Cloyd
Of English origin, meaning "settlement near a hillock or rise".
Name Census estimates that about 806 living Americans carry the first name Cloyd. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cloyd today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cloyd births was 1918 (91 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cloyd. 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 Cloyd is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cloyds were born before 1962.
People living today
806
~ 1 in 425,254 Americans
Peak year
1918
91 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1993 SSA rank
#7,794
Tracked since 1880
Census
Cloyd in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 914 people with the first name Cloyd, which placed it at #13,274 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
#13,274
National first-name rank
People counted
914
914 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cloyd
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cloyd is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Cloyd 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 Cloyd at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 726
- Black or African American13.3% · 122
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 23
- Two or more races2.3% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 9
Popularity
Cloyd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cloyd from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 719 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cloyd 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 Cloyd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cloyds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois recorded the most babies named Cloyd, while West Virginia, North Carolina, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cloyd
The name Cloyd has its origins in the Old English language and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "clud," which means "a rounded hill" or "a lump." The earliest recorded use of the name can be traced back to the 11th century in England, where it was likely used as a topographic surname for someone who lived near or on a rounded hill.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cloyd was primarily found in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. It is possible that the name may have been influenced by the Old Norse word "klöggr," meaning "sturdy" or "strong," as the Vikings had a significant impact on the English language during their invasions and settlements in the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cloyd can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named Cloyd in the county of Lincolnshire, indicating that the name was already in use during the late 11th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Cloyd. One of the earliest recorded instances is Cloyd de Beaumont (c. 1150-1215), a Norman knight who fought in the Third Crusade alongside Richard the Lionheart. Another prominent figure was Sir Cloyd Evelynge (c. 1280-1345), an English soldier and landowner who participated in the Hundred Years' War against France.
In the 16th century, Cloyd Wycliffe (c. 1510-1572) was a renowned scholar and translator who played a significant role in the English Reformation by producing one of the earliest English translations of the Bible. During the same period, Cloyd Gresham (c. 1525-1592) was a prominent merchant and financier in London, known for his involvement in the establishment of the Royal Exchange.
Moving forward to the 17th century, Cloyd Browne (1605-1682) was an English politician and member of Parliament who played an influential role during the English Civil War. In the 18th century, Cloyd Vane (1718-1795) was a British naval officer and explorer who made significant contributions to the mapping of the Pacific Ocean and the exploration of Australia.
While the name Cloyd has its roots in Old English and has been present throughout various periods of English history, it is important to note that its usage and popularity have ebbed and flowed over time. The name has maintained a presence, albeit relatively uncommon, in various parts of the English-speaking world, with some variations in spelling and pronunciation.
People
Cloyd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cloyd 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
Cloyd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cloyd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 806 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cloyd 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 425,254 US residents.
Is Cloyd a common name?
We classify Cloyd as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,050 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cloyd most popular?
The single biggest year for Cloyd was 1918, when 91 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cloyd is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cloyd in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 914 people with the name Cloyd, or 0.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,274 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 Cloyd 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 Cloyd?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cloyd appears almost entirely male. Of the 917 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Cloyd?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cloyd is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Cloyd most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cloyd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (726 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 Cloyd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cloyd a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cloyd 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 Cloyd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cloyd 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 Cloyd 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 Cloyd?
Find out how many Americans are named Cloyd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.