How Many People Are Named Clifford?
An estimated 87,218 people in the United States have the first name Clifford. It is predominantly male (98.9%). The average bearer is 63 years old, and Clifford peaked in popularity in 1925 with 3,473 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Clifford 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 Clifford paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Clifford is overwhelmingly male, 2,019 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Clifford has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
87,218
About 1 in 3,930 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.9% confidence
Average Age
63
years old
Peak Year
1925
3,473 births
Total Registered
190,128
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Clifford
Clifford is predominantly male (98.9%), though 2,019 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Clifford as a male name
Ranked #1,340 in 2024
142 male births in 2024
Peak: 1925 (3,424 births)
Clifford as a female name
Ranked #10,500 in 1991
7 female births in 1991
Peak: 1917 (58 births)
Clifford: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Clifford span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 31,688 babies were registered. Clifford has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Clifford by Decade
How has Clifford 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 | 1,630 | 1,552 | 78 | |
| 1890s | 2,821 | 2,701 | 120 | |
| 1900s | 4,210 | 4,055 | 155 | |
| 1910s | 21,247 | 20,886 | 361 | |
| 1920s | 31,688 | 31,242 | 446 | |
| 1930s | 23,333 | 23,101 | 232 | |
| 1940s | 25,973 | 25,822 | 151 | |
| 1950s | 30,013 | 29,861 | 152 | |
| 1960s | 19,393 | 19,263 | 130 | |
| 1970s | 11,857 | 11,764 | 93 | |
| 1980s | 9,650 | 9,556 | 94 | |
| 1990s | 4,302 | 4,295 | 7 | |
| 2000s | 1,895 | 1,895 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,415 | 1,415 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 701 | 701 | 0 | |
Clifford by State
Birth registrations for Clifford span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Texas. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Delaware. On average, about 3,476 Cliffords were registered per state.
Clifford + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Clifford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Clifford
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Clifford: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clifford?
We estimate approximately 87,218 people named Clifford 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 3,930 Americans share this first name.
Is Clifford a common name?
Clifford is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 190,128 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Clifford most popular?
Clifford reached peak popularity in 1925, when 3,473 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Clifford is approximately 63 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Clifford a male name?
Clifford is predominantly male. 98.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Clifford Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Clifford Smith, Clifford Johnson, Clifford 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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