Clyde — #727 US boys' name
144,635 babies named Clyde in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
More common than 95% of names given to boys today.
20% of everyone ever named Clyde was born in this single decade.
3,069 babies were named Clyde in 1920 — its busiest year on record.
What the Data Says About Clyde
The Social Security Administration has registered 144,635 babies named Clyde between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Clyde currently holds the #727 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1920, when 3,069 babies received it in a single year.
Decade-level aggregation shows that Clyde performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 28,957 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Clyde shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in North Carolina, which accounts for 9,149 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Clyde in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.
No etymological entry is currently available for Clyde in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 144,635 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.
Clyde at a glance
Top 1,000 boys' namePeak year
Current rank
Active since
Clyde popularity over time — boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880
- Peak year (1920)
- 3,069
- Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
Currently ranks #727 among boys.
144,635 total births across 145 years of SSA records. Peaked in 1920 with 3,069 births in a single year.
Clyde popularity over time — girls
3,932 total births recorded since 1880 (Clyde as girls' name)
Unisex use remains the minority pattern
The girls' variant of Clyde accounts for 3% of total recorded use across both genders.
Clyde by decade
Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance
- Peak decade
- 1920s
- 28,957 births that decade — 20% of Clyde's all-time total
Clyde decade highlights
- Peak decade 28,957 births
- Runner-up 22,452 births
- Modern era share 2010s + 2020s
- Decades tracked with recorded births
1920s was Clyde's strongest decade
28,957 babies received the name during that ten-year window — about 20% of all-time use.
Clyde by state
Where Clyde concentrates geographically — total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | North Carolina | | 9,149 | 6.3% |
| #2 | Texas | | 8,922 | 6.2% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 7,539 | 5.2% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 6,355 | 4.4% |
| #5 | Tennessee | | 6,316 | 4.4% |
| #6 | Virginia | | 5,437 | 3.8% |
| #7 | Kentucky | | 5,237 | 3.6% |
| #8 | California | | 5,120 | 3.5% |
9,149 of 144,635 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Top 5 states
- North Carolina 6.3% of nationwide
- Texas 6.2% of nationwide
- Pennsylvania 5.2% of nationwide
- Ohio 4.4% of nationwide
- Tennessee 4.4% of nationwide
Recorded in 51 of 51 SSA jurisdictions
North Carolina accounts for 6.3% of all recorded births nationwide — a relatively diffuse profile for this name.
Clyde appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Clyde
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Data Sources
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.