Clo
A feminine name derived from the French word "cloche," meaning "bell."
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Clo. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Clo today is around 89 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clo births was 1937 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clo. 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 Clo is about 89 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clos were born before 1947.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Clo. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1937
9 babies that year
Average age
89
years old
1943 SSA rank
#4,275
Tracked since 1915
Census
Clo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109 people with the first name Clo, which placed it at #52,143 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
#52,143
National first-name rank
People counted
109
109 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clo is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Clo 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 Clo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.0% · 73
- Black or African American17.4% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino10.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Popularity
Clo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clo from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 33 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1930s peak, Clo remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clo 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 Clo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Clo
The name Clo is derived from the Latin word "clarus," which means "clear" or "bright." It is believed to have originated in ancient Rome during the Roman Empire period, which spanned from 27 BC to AD 476. The name was initially used as a nickname or pet name for individuals whose names contained the root "clar," such as Claudius or Clarissa.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Clo can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who lived from 59 BC to AD 17. In his historical work, "Ab Urbe Condita" (From the Founding of the City), Livy mentions a character named Clo, though little is known about this individual's background or significance.
During the Middle Ages, the name Clo gained some popularity among Christian communities, particularly in parts of Europe. It is believed that the name's association with the Latin word "clarus" and its connotation of brightness and clarity may have contributed to its use as a name for both boys and girls.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Clo was Clo of Auxerre, a French abbess who lived in the 6th century AD. She is remembered for her piety and leadership in the Christian community of Auxerre, France.
Another historical figure with the name Clo was Clo of Pamplona, a Spanish saint who lived in the 9th century AD. She is revered in the Catholic Church for her devotion to charity and her work in caring for the poor and sick in the city of Pamplona, Spain.
In the 12th century, a monk named Clo of St. Gallen, who lived in the Swiss monastery of St. Gallen, gained recognition for his contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts and his work in the scriptorium, where he copied and illuminated religious texts.
During the Renaissance period, the name Clo appeared in several literary works, including the writings of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who mentioned a character named Clo in his famous work, "The Divine Comedy."
In the 19th century, a French artist named Clo Delaporte gained recognition for her portrait paintings and depictions of rural life in France. She lived from 1828 to 1898 and is considered one of the notable female painters of her time.
People
Clo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clo 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
Clo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clo 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Clo a common name?
We classify Clo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 59 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clo most popular?
The single biggest year for Clo was 1937, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clo is about 89 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Clo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109 people with the name Clo, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,143 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 Clo 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 Clo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Clo leans strongly female. 91 people counted with this name were female (83.5%), compared with 18 male bearers (16.5%). 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 Clo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clo is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Hispanic (10.1%). 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 Clo most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Clo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.0% (73 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 Clo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clo a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clo in the SSA data are female. 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 Clo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clo 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 Clo 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 are named Clo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.