Cliff
Cliff was given to 43 boys in 2025, #2,894 among boys’ names; 9,307 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,990 Americans named Cliff and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (64% of everyone recorded); the median is 58 years old and half are between 43 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cliff by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cliff mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cliff is “a diminutive of the male given name Clifford or Clifton.”
The given name is from shortenings of the diminutives. The surname is from the noun cliff.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cliff?
#2,894 among boys’ names, 2025
Cliff rose from #5,334 in 2015 to #2,894 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 8.9 to 25.2 per million.
310 babies in 1959, the peak
Cliff peaked in 1959, when 310 boys were given it, #456 among boys’ names. The 43 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43 | #2,894 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 41 | #3,002 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 39 | #3,128 | 0.02 |
| 2022 | 33 | #3,475 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 29 | #3,751 | 0.02 |
| 2020 | 47 | #2,666 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 26 | #4,022 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 21 | #4,627 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 24 | #4,242 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 19 | #4,979 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17 | #5,334 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 20 | #4,727 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 14 | #5,976 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 13 | #6,377 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 21 | #4,530 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 19 | #4,870 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 12 | #6,875 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 16 | #5,529 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 20 | #4,669 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 18 | #4,893 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 17 | #4,858 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 14 | #5,540 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 15 | #5,073 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 14 | #5,173 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 19 | #4,147 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 28 | #3,082 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 21 | #3,599 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 27 | #2,935 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 28 | #2,758 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 22 | #3,211 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 24 | #2,929 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 25 | #2,858 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 22 | #3,058 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 47 | #1,779 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 54 | #1,570 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 53 | #1,565 | 0.03 |
| 1989 | 72 | #1,278 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 70 | #1,212 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 64 | #1,205 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 82 | #1,022 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 109 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 119 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 135 | #744 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 142 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 146 | #714 | 0.08 |
| 1980 | 143 | #734 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 118 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1978 | 91 | #902 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 89 | #901 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 83 | #913 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 80 | #918 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 99 | #809 | 0.06 |
| 1973 | 110 | #764 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 104 | #783 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 130 | #723 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 157 | #653 | 0.08 |
| 1969 | 147 | #651 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 124 | #676 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 128 | #660 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 151 | #606 | 0.08 |
| 1965 | 174 | #579 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 230 | #514 | 0.12 |
| 1963 | 262 | #495 | 0.13 |
| 1962 | 229 | #526 | 0.11 |
| 1961 | 280 | #478 | 0.13 |
| 1960 | 251 | #497 | 0.12 |
| 1959 | 310 | #456 | 0.15 |
| 1958 | 247 | #493 | 0.12 |
| 1957 | 247 | #495 | 0.11 |
| 1956 | 147 | #625 | 0.07 |
| 1955 | 148 | #609 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 127 | #648 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 92 | #744 | 0.05 |
| 1952 | 88 | #750 | 0.05 |
| 1951 | 67 | #852 | 0.04 |
| 1950 | 94 | #705 | 0.05 |
| 1949 | 89 | #729 | 0.05 |
| 1948 | 109 | #647 | 0.06 |
| 1947 | 140 | #572 | 0.08 |
| 1946 | 99 | #648 | 0.06 |
| 1945 | 97 | #613 | 0.07 |
| 1944 | 86 | #668 | 0.06 |
| 1943 | 74 | #753 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 75 | #740 | 0.05 |
| 1941 | 69 | #747 | 0.06 |
| 1940 | 72 | #718 | 0.06 |
| 1939 | 71 | #709 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 56 | #828 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 64 | #764 | 0.06 |
| 1936 | 56 | #817 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 59 | #805 | 0.06 |
| 1934 | 57 | #830 | 0.06 |
| 1933 | 44 | #949 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 46 | #968 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 47 | #962 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,023 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 44 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 33 | #1,258 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 40 | #1,129 | 0.04 |
| 1926 | 46 | #1,019 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 37 | #1,167 | 0.03 |
| 1924 | 27 | #1,463 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 49 | #996 | 0.04 |
| 1922 | 39 | #1,145 | 0.04 |
| 1921 | 46 | #1,031 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 43 | #1,077 | 0.04 |
| 1919 | 42 | #1,049 | 0.04 |
| 1918 | 45 | #996 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 41 | #1,020 | 0.04 |
| 1916 | 52 | #878 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 58 | #794 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 34 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 16 | #1,321 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 28 | #840 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 21 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 20 | #659 | 0.10 |
| 1909 | 19 | #621 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 21 | #557 | 0.14 |
| 1907 | 18 | #596 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 22 | #475 | 0.17 |
| 1905 | 23 | #466 | 0.17 |
| 1904 | 24 | #434 | 0.19 |
| 1903 | 19 | #488 | 0.16 |
| 1902 | 16 | #541 | 0.13 |
| 1901 | 15 | #512 | 0.14 |
| 1900 | 17 | #605 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 15 | #506 | 0.14 |
| 1898 | 18 | #489 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 16 | #502 | 0.14 |
| 1896 | 13 | #603 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 21 | #428 | 0.18 |
| 1894 | 17 | #485 | 0.15 |
| 1893 | 17 | #451 | 0.15 |
| 1892 | 13 | #575 | 0.11 |
| 1891 | 12 | #527 | 0.12 |
| 1890 | 15 | #493 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 15 | #485 | 0.14 |
| 1888 | 15 | #508 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 17 | #412 | 0.17 |
| 1886 | 23 | #358 | 0.21 |
| 1885 | 14 | #504 | 0.13 |
| 1884 | 13 | #528 | 0.11 |
| 1883 | 10 | #606 | 0.10 |
| 1882 | 13 | #520 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 5 | #891 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 7 | #760 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cliff a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cliff has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Cliff: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cliff, and how old are they?
5,990 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 64% of the 9,307 Americans ever recorded as Cliff. The median Cliff alive today is 58 years old; half are between 43 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 11,435 people named Cliff (38 women and girls, 11,397 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,309 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Cliff rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 250 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,270 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,690 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,120 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 297 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 370 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cliff born?
The states with the most babies named Cliff are California, Texas and New York, with 47% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 884 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Texas | 690 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New York | 504 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 237 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Florida | 233 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 209 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Illinois | 181 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Alabama | 158 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 136 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Michigan | 135 | not ranked | 0.4× |
Where Cliff is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cliff is most over-represented in Texas: since 1910 it was given 1.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cliff with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 9,506 babies since 1880, Cliff is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 43 of their 43 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cliff
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cliff and names like it
- Compare Cliff and ClifBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sCliff peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cliff since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Cliff.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cliff alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.