Clifford
Clifford was given to 139 boys in 2025, #1,352 among boys’ names; 190,268 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 77,500 Americans named Clifford and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (41% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 49 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Clifford by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Clifford mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Clifford is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “cliff” (clif) and “ford” (ford).
From Old English clif (“cliff”) + ford (“ford”), a dweller at the ford by the steep bank.
/ˈklɪfəɹd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Clifford?
#1,352 among boys’ names, 2025
Clifford fell from #1,240 in 2015 to #1,352 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 76.7 to 81.4 per million.
3,473 babies in 1925, the peak
Clifford peaked in 1925, when 3,473 babies were given it (3,424 boys, #59 among boys’ names). The 139 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 139 | #1,352 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 143 | #1,342 | 0.08 |
| 2023 | 125 | #1,451 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 152 | #1,270 | 0.09 |
| 2021 | 150 | #1,269 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 133 | #1,344 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 153 | #1,235 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 144 | #1,276 | 0.08 |
| 2017 | 160 | #1,172 | 0.09 |
| 2016 | 138 | #1,310 | 0.07 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 147 | #1,240 | 0.08 |
| 2014 | 119 | #1,415 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 138 | #1,263 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 138 | #1,275 | 0.07 |
| 2011 | 135 | #1,271 | 0.07 |
| 2010 | 143 | #1,233 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 144 | #1,242 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 163 | #1,119 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 181 | #1,040 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 168 | #1,067 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 190 | #925 | 0.10 |
| 2004 | 215 | #826 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 175 | #937 | 0.09 |
| 2002 | 197 | #843 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 238 | #730 | 0.12 |
| 2000 | 224 | #752 | 0.11 |
| 1999 | 293 | #619 | 0.15 |
| 1998 | 267 | #654 | 0.14 |
| 1997 | 323 | #573 | 0.17 |
| 1996 | 356 | #538 | 0.19 |
| 1995 | 357 | #534 | 0.19 |
| 1994 | 402 | #506 | 0.21 |
| 1993 | 475 | #455 | 0.24 |
| 1992 | 538 | #416 | 0.27 |
| 1991 | 584 | #388 | 0.29 |
| 1990 | 700 | #346 | 0.34 |
| 1989 | 774 | #309 | 0.39 |
| 1988 | 764 | #298 | 0.40 |
| 1987 | 754 | #286 | 0.40 |
| 1986 | 866 | #257 | 0.47 |
| 1985 | 894 | #253 | 0.48 |
| 1984 | 997 | #225 | 0.55 |
| 1983 | 974 | #228 | 0.54 |
| 1982 | 1,141 | #212 | 0.63 |
| 1981 | 1,178 | #210 | 0.66 |
| 1980 | 1,214 | #202 | 0.68 |
| 1979 | 1,045 | #220 | 0.61 |
| 1978 | 1,001 | #217 | 0.61 |
| 1977 | 972 | #224 | 0.59 |
| 1976 | 1,065 | #205 | 0.68 |
| 1975 | 1,123 | #199 | 0.72 |
| 1974 | 1,149 | #193 | 0.73 |
| 1973 | 1,174 | #193 | 0.75 |
| 1972 | 1,268 | #186 | 0.78 |
| 1971 | 1,382 | #185 | 0.78 |
| 1970 | 1,582 | #176 | 0.85 |
| 1969 | 1,505 | #184 | 0.84 |
| 1968 | 1,608 | #167 | 0.93 |
| 1967 | 1,513 | #174 | 0.87 |
| 1966 | 1,612 | #169 | 0.90 |
| 1965 | 1,821 | #163 | 1.0 |
| 1964 | 2,019 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1963 | 2,198 | #150 | 1.1 |
| 1962 | 2,184 | #150 | 1.1 |
| 1961 | 2,340 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1960 | 2,464 | #141 | 1.2 |
| 1959 | 2,536 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1958 | 2,812 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1957 | 2,893 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1956 | 2,911 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1955 | 2,995 | #118 | 1.5 |
| 1954 | 3,141 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1953 | 3,157 | #102 | 1.6 |
| 1952 | 3,317 | #99 | 1.7 |
| 1951 | 3,160 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1950 | 2,940 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1949 | 2,898 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 1948 | 2,793 | #105 | 1.6 |
| 1947 | 2,990 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1946 | 2,616 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1945 | 2,384 | #99 | 1.8 |
| 1944 | 2,394 | #99 | 1.8 |
| 1943 | 2,667 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1942 | 2,533 | #95 | 1.8 |
| 1941 | 2,363 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1940 | 2,185 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1939 | 2,290 | #88 | 2.1 |
| 1938 | 2,277 | #89 | 2.1 |
| 1937 | 2,229 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1936 | 2,132 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1935 | 2,265 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1934 | 2,315 | #85 | 2.2 |
| 1933 | 2,158 | #86 | 2.2 |
| 1932 | 2,286 | #84 | 2.2 |
| 1931 | 2,452 | #75 | 2.4 |
| 1930 | 2,696 | #73 | 2.5 |
| 1929 | 2,669 | #72 | 2.5 |
| 1928 | 2,862 | #68 | 2.6 |
| 1927 | 3,031 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1926 | 3,190 | #62 | 2.9 |
| 1925 | 3,424 | #59 | 3.1 |
| 1924 | 3,250 | #64 | 2.9 |
| 1923 | 3,106 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 1922 | 3,157 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1921 | 3,262 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1920 | 3,291 | #59 | 3.1 |
| 1919 | 3,040 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 1918 | 3,299 | #60 | 3.3 |
| 1917 | 2,969 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1916 | 2,767 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1915 | 2,741 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1914 | 1,960 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1913 | 1,520 | #68 | 3.0 |
| 1912 | 1,345 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1911 | 694 | #62 | 3.1 |
| 1910 | 551 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1909 | 536 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1908 | 515 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1907 | 445 | #65 | 3.0 |
| 1906 | 413 | #63 | 3.1 |
| 1905 | 420 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1904 | 361 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1903 | 348 | #61 | 2.9 |
| 1902 | 326 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1901 | 282 | #69 | 2.6 |
| 1900 | 409 | #66 | 2.7 |
| 1899 | 297 | #62 | 2.8 |
| 1898 | 317 | #67 | 2.6 |
| 1897 | 285 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 1896 | 311 | #66 | 2.6 |
| 1895 | 272 | #72 | 2.3 |
| 1894 | 307 | #65 | 2.7 |
| 1893 | 269 | #71 | 2.4 |
| 1892 | 240 | #80 | 2.0 |
| 1891 | 196 | #81 | 1.9 |
| 1890 | 207 | #83 | 1.9 |
| 1889 | 202 | #87 | 1.8 |
| 1888 | 194 | #92 | 1.6 |
| 1887 | 165 | #91 | 1.6 |
| 1886 | 172 | #95 | 1.6 |
| 1885 | 139 | #104 | 1.3 |
| 1884 | 150 | #102 | 1.3 |
| 1883 | 138 | #100 | 1.3 |
| 1882 | 155 | #94 | 1.4 |
| 1881 | 110 | #112 | 1.1 |
| 1880 | 127 | #107 | 1.1 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Clifford a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 190,268 Americans recorded as Clifford, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 139 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Clifford: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Clifford, and how old are they?
77,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 41% of the 190,268 Americans ever recorded as Clifford. The median Clifford alive today is 64 years old; half are between 49 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 78,907 people named Clifford (194 women and girls, 78,713 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 89,903 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 8,350 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 34,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 18,600 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,200 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,140 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,830 |
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 Clifford born?
The states with the most babies named Clifford are New York, California and Texas, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 13,400 | #1,442 | 0.8× |
| California | 11,377 | #1,712 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 9,433 | #1,943 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 9,365 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 9,233 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 8,659 | #951 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 7,741 | #1,236 | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 7,730 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Missouri | 5,881 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Florida | 5,130 | #1,891 | 1.3× |
Where Clifford is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Clifford is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 1.7 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 Clifford 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 3 names spelled alike, given to 190,696 babies since 1880, Clifford is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 139 of their 139 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 Clifford
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 Clifford and names like it
- Compare Clifford and ClifordBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sClifford peaked in 1925.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Clifford since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Clifford: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1925The year the most babies were named Clifford.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Clifford alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.