Clabe
A Hebrew name meaning "stream" or "brook".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Clabe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Clabe today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clabe births was 1882 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clabe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Clabe is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clabes were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Clabe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1882
6 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1952 SSA rank
#3,422
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Clabe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clabe from the 1880s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 17 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clabe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Clabe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Clabe
The given name Clabe is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period of the 5th to 11th centuries. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English word "clab," which means "lump" or "clod," and was often used as a descriptive term for a person with a stocky or sturdy build.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clabe can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of lands and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It mentions a landowner named Clabe of Wiltshire, providing evidence of the name's usage during the Norman period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Clabe appears sporadically in various historical records and documents across England and parts of northern Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Clabe de Montfort, a French knight who fought alongside Simon de Montfort during the Second Barons' War in the 13th century.
In the 16th century, a Clabe Willoughby was recorded as a merchant and ship owner in Bristol, England. His name appears in several maritime records and trade documents, indicating the name's endurance and association with the mercantile class of the time.
Moving into the 17th century, Clabe Hutchinson was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, serving as a colonel in the Parliamentarian army under Oliver Cromwell. He played a significant role in several battles, including the Battle of Naseby in 1645.
Another notable bearer of the name was Clabe Winslow, an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1620s. He was among the first English settlers to arrive in what would become the United States and played a crucial role in the establishment of the Plymouth Colony.
While the name Clabe has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical lineage, reflecting the enduring legacy of Old English names and their evolution over the centuries.
People
Clabe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clabe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Clabe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clabe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clabe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Clabe a common name?
We classify Clabe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 45 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clabe most popular?
The single biggest year for Clabe was 1882, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clabe is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Clabe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clabe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clabe in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Clabe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clabe in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Clabe can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Clabe?
You can see how many people share the name Clabe on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.