How rare is the name Clifford?

78,907 people in the United States have the first name Clifford, about 1 in 3,828. It ranks #668 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

CLIFFORD

#668

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
78,907
About
1 in 3,828
This common or more
63.7%
Who bears it

Of the 78,907 people named Clifford, 74.2% reported their origin as White, 17% as Black and 3.1% as two or more races. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Clifford peaked in 1925, when 3,473 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1925
Births that year
3,473
In 2025*
139 ▼96%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 190,268 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Clifford by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1910s, when it ranked #151. The largest share of babies named Clifford, 27.7%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#2291,630
1890s#2192,821
1900s#2074,210
1910s#15121,247
1920s#15231,688
1930s#19723,332
1940s#22125,974
1950s#25230,014
1960s#34119,394
1970s#42411,854
1980s#5099,650
1990s#1,0504,302
2000s#2,1281,895
2010s#2,7931,415
2020s#2,811842
Before 19012.6%
Greatest Generation 1901–2726.9%
Silent Generation 1928–4522.9%
Baby boom 1946–6427.7%
Generation X 1965–8011.1%
Millennials 1981–966.2%
Generation Z 1997–121.7%
2013 and later1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Clifford is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Clifford has been most common in North Dakota (2.4×), South Dakota (2.3×), and Hawaii (2.3×), and least common in Nevada (0.3×).

177,365 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Clifford

#666 Marion · 79,603#667 Daniela · 78,946#669 Devon · 78,789#670 Jillian · 78,761

Spelled almost the same

2 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Clifford, most common first.

#26,490 Cliford · 351#53,155 Cliffard · 102

Also a last name

As a last name, Clifford ranks #1,659 of 156,621, with 21,150 people. See Clifford as a last name

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