How rare is the name Clive?

4,541 people in the United States have the first name Clive, about 1 in 66,512. It ranks #4,200 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 1 other.

first name

CLIVE

#4,200

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
4,541
About
1 in 66,512
This common or more
83.7%
Who bears it

Of the 4,541 people named Clive, 46.4% reported their origin as White, 40.4% as Black and 5.5% as two or more races. Virtually all are male (99.7%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Clive peaked in 2016, when 85 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18852025
Peak year
2016
Births that year
85
In 2025*
57 ▼33%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 3,336 babies have been given the name since 1885. 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.

Clive by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1930s, when it ranked #2,169. The largest share of babies named Clive, 26.3%, were born in 2013 or later.

1880s#3,1215
1890s#2,35640
1900s#3,02035
1910s#2,744190
1920s#2,856270
1930s#2,169371
1940s#2,895265
1950s#3,751220
1960s#5,316142
1970s#8,275100
1980s#7,532155
1990s#8,068200
2000s#7,814289
2010s#4,507690
2020s#4,908364
Before 19011.5%
Greatest Generation 1901–2713.1%
Silent Generation 1928–4517.3%
Baby boom 1946–6412.7%
Generation X 1965–804.9%
Millennials 1981–968.8%
Generation Z 1997–1215.5%
2013 and later26.3%

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.

Exactly as common as Clive

1 other first name also has 4,541 people.

#4,200 Slade · 4,541

Either side of Clive

#4,198 Leora · 4,545#4,199 Yves · 4,543#4,200 Slade · 4,541#4,202 Gavyn · 4,539

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Clive, most common first.

#8,006 Cleve · 1,840

Also a last name

As a last name, Clive ranks #64,212 of 156,621, with 335 people. See Clive as a last name

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