How Many People Are Named Clay?
An estimated 32,439 people in the United States have the first name Clay. It is predominantly male (99.3%). The average bearer is 40 years old, and Clay peaked in popularity in 1960 with 911 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Clay as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, state-by-state birth registrations, and, when available, a 2020 Census snapshot showing who had the name at that point in time. You can also check how many people share the full name Clay paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Clay is overwhelmingly male, 273 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
32,439
About 1 in 10,566 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.3% confidence
Average Age
40
years old
Peak Year
1960
911 births
Total Registered
40,009
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Clay
Clay is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 40,009 total births registered, 99.3% were male.
Clay as a male name
Ranked #543 in 2024
545 male births in 2024
Peak: 1960 (904 births)
Clay as a female name
Ranked #15,736 in 2024
5 female births in 2024
Peak: 1942 (14 births)
Clay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 31,014 people with the first name Clay, which placed it at #1,232 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The estimated living count elsewhere on this page is different: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two figures are not expected to match exactly.
Read this section as a snapshot of people who already had the name in 2020. The SSA charts elsewhere on this page are still the better way to see how the name rose, fell, or shifted across generations.
Gender in the 2020 Census
In the 2020 Census, Clay was recorded as predominantly male. Out of 31,014 people with this name in that snapshot, 99.2% were male and 0.8% were female. That is very close to the long-run birth pattern in SSA records, where the name is male 99.3% of the time.
Census Count
31,014
people with this name
Census Rank
#1,232
among Census first names
Frequency Rate
10.27
per 100,000 people
Recorded Race and Hispanic Origin in the 2020 Census
In the 2020 Census, the first name Clay was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (87.47%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (4.42%) and Two or More Races (3.39%).
These percentages describe the people who had the first name Clay in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.
2020 Census demographic breakdown
Each row shows a recorded Census category for people with the first name Clay.
| Group | Share | Count |
|---|---|---|
| White | 87.47% | 27,133 |
| Black | 4.42% | 1,370 |
| Two or More Races | 3.39% | 1,050 |
| Hispanic | 2.80% | 870 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.99% | 306 |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.93% | 290 |
The Census published separate sex and race/origin tables for first names, so their total counts can differ slightly for the same name. That is why the race section focuses on the demographic mix rather than repeating a second headline count.
Clay: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Clay span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 5,813 babies were registered. While Clay is less common than at its peak in the 1990s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Clay by Decade
How has Clay tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 245 | 245 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 298 | 292 | 6 | |
| 1900s | 323 | 323 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 1,038 | 1,015 | 23 | |
| 1920s | 1,508 | 1,453 | 55 | |
| 1930s | 1,236 | 1,188 | 48 | |
| 1940s | 1,332 | 1,295 | 37 | |
| 1950s | 4,381 | 4,336 | 45 | |
| 1960s | 5,730 | 5,718 | 12 | |
| 1970s | 4,352 | 4,333 | 19 | |
| 1980s | 4,022 | 4,016 | 6 | |
| 1990s | 5,813 | 5,806 | 7 | |
| 2000s | 4,101 | 4,096 | 5 | |
| 2010s | 3,264 | 3,264 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 2,366 | 2,356 | 10 | |
Clay by State
Birth registrations for Clay span all 46 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Ohio. The lowest are in District of Columbia, Hawaii, Nevada. On average, about 747 Clays were registered per state.
Clay + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Clay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Clay
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Clay: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clay?
We estimate approximately 32,439 people named Clay are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 10,566 Americans share this first name.
Is Clay a common name?
Clay is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 40,009 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Clay most popular?
Clay reached peak popularity in 1960, when 911 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Clay is approximately 40 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
How common was Clay in the 2020 Census?
The 2020 Census recorded 31,014 people with the first name Clay. That placed it at #1,232 in the published Census first-name tables, or 10.27 people per 100,000.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census number is a count of people with the name in 2020. The living estimate is a current model based on SSA birth records and survival rates, so it aims to estimate how many people with the name are alive now.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The popularity chart tracks birth registrations, not people currently alive. It shows how often Clay was given to babies from 1880 through 2024, which is why it is the best tool on the page for seeing long-run naming trends.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Clay?
In the 2020 Census snapshot, Clay was recorded as predominantly male. The published split was 99.2% male and 0.8% female.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Clay?
In the 2020 Census, the first name Clay was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (87.47%). The next largest recorded groups were Black (4.42%) and Two or More Races (3.39%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper meaning or origin of the name itself.
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census published separate first-name tables for sex and for race and Hispanic origin. Those totals can differ slightly for the same name, so the page uses them as two related snapshots rather than treating them as perfectly interchangeable counts.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name tables only include names that met the Bureau's publication rules. That means some names on this site will have SSA history but no published Census demographic snapshot.
Is Clay a male name?
Clay is predominantly male. 99.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
Why can Clay have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because a name can build up a large population over many decades. Clay peaked in 1960, and the average living bearer is about 40 years old, so a name can still have millions of living bearers even after it stops feeling current for newborns.
How many Clay Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Clay Smith, Clay Johnson, Clay Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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