Clive
A masculine name of English origin meaning "cliff, slope, or river bank".
Name Census estimates that about 2,219 living Americans carry the first name Clive. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Clive today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clive births was 2016 (85 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clive. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Clive with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 154,463 Americans
Peak year
2016
85 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,056
Tracked since 1885
Census
Clive in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,538 people with the first name Clive, which placed it at #4,203 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,203
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,538 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clive
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clive is White at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Black (40.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Clive described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Clive at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.4% · 2,105
- Black or African American40.4% · 1,833
- Two or more races5.5% · 251
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 206
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Popularity
Clive: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clive from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 690 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Clive remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clive 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 Clive during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clives live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Clive, while Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Clive
The name Clive is of Old English origin, derived from the word "clif," meaning a cliff or a slope. This name gained popularity during the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century.
The name Clive has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon era, and it was a common name among the people living in the regions of Worcestershire and Shropshire in England. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Cliue."
In ancient times, the name Clive was associated with strength and resilience, as it was often given to children born in or near cliffs or slopes. It was believed that these children would grow up to be strong and steadfast, just like the natural formations they were named after.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Clive can be found in the writings of the 12th-century historian, William of Malmesbury. He mentioned a nobleman named Clive de Bec, who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the name Clive. One of the most famous was Robert Clive (1725-1774), an English military officer and statesman who is often referred to as the "Conqueror of India." He played a significant role in securing British control over the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century.
Another well-known Clive was Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), the renowned British author and scholar, best known for his works of fiction, including the Chronicles of Narnia series. His works have had a profound impact on literature and continue to be widely read and studied.
Clive Cussler (1931-2020) was an American author and marine archaeologist, best known for his adventure novels featuring the character Dirk Pitt. His books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and have been translated into over 40 languages.
Clive Davis (born 1932) is an American record executive and producer, who has played a pivotal role in the music industry for over six decades. He has worked with numerous legendary artists, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston.
Clive Owen (born 1964) is an English actor, known for his roles in films such as "Closer," "Children of Men," and "Sin City." He has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award, for his impressive acting performances.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Clive
People
Clive + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clive 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
Clive: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clive?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clive 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 154,463 US residents.
Is Clive a common name?
We classify Clive as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,279 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clive most popular?
The single biggest year for Clive was 2016, when 85 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clive is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Clive in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,538 people with the name Clive, or 1.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,203 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Clive in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Clive?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Clive appears almost entirely male. Of the 4,541 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Clive?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clive is White at 46.4%. The next largest groups are Black (40.4%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Clive most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Clive in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.4% (2,105 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Clive in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clive a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clive 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 Clive still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clive 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 Clive 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.
How many people have Clive as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Clive on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.