How Many People Are Named Cletus?
An estimated 2,411 people in the United States have the first name Cletus. It is predominantly male (96.5%). The average bearer is 66 years old, and Cletus peaked in popularity in 1922 with 243 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Cletus as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Cletus paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Cletus is overwhelmingly male, 272 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 66, Cletus is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1970.
Estimated Living Americans
2,411
About 1 in 142,163 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
96.5% confidence
Average Age
66
years old
Peak Year
1922
243 births
Total Registered
7,698
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Cletus
Cletus is predominantly male (96.5%), though 272 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Cletus as a male name
Ranked #11,157 in 2024
6 male births in 2024
Peak: 1922 (233 births)
Cletus as a female name
Ranked #5,384 in 1948
5 female births in 1948
Peak: 1918 (16 births)
Cletus: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Cletus span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 2,012 babies were registered. Cletus has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Cletus by Decade
How has Cletus 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.
Cletus by State
Birth registrations for Cletus span all 23 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa. The lowest are in California, Nebraska, South Dakota. On average, about 184 Cletuss were registered per state.
Cletus + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Cletus as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Cletus
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Cletus: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cletus?
We estimate approximately 2,411 people named Cletus 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 142,163 Americans share this first name.
Is Cletus a common name?
Cletus is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 94.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 7,698 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Cletus most popular?
Cletus reached peak popularity in 1922, when 243 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Cletus is approximately 66 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Cletus a male name?
Cletus is predominantly male. 96.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Cletus Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Cletus Smith, Cletus Johnson, Cletus 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.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me