How Many People Are Named Clifton?
An estimated 39,640 people in the United States have the first name Clifton. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 56 years old, and Clifton peaked in popularity in 1975 with 1,224 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Clifton 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 Clifton paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Clifton is overwhelmingly male, 436 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
39,640
About 1 in 8,647 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
56
years old
Peak Year
1975
1,224 births
Total Registered
70,600
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Clifton
Clifton is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 70,600 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Clifton as a male name
Ranked #1,746 in 2024
94 male births in 2024
Peak: 1975 (1,214 births)
Clifton as a female name
Ranked #8,544 in 1988
8 female births in 1988
Peak: 1970 (13 births)
Clifton: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Clifton span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 9,900 babies were registered. Clifton has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Clifton by Decade
How has Clifton 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 | 456 | 456 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 815 | 815 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 1,202 | 1,197 | 5 | |
| 1910s | 6,176 | 6,104 | 72 | |
| 1920s | 8,810 | 8,732 | 78 | |
| 1930s | 6,895 | 6,857 | 38 | |
| 1940s | 8,202 | 8,148 | 54 | |
| 1950s | 9,900 | 9,881 | 19 | |
| 1960s | 7,662 | 7,615 | 47 | |
| 1970s | 7,889 | 7,805 | 84 | |
| 1980s | 6,430 | 6,391 | 39 | |
| 1990s | 2,941 | 2,941 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 1,647 | 1,647 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,095 | 1,095 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 480 | 480 | 0 | |
Clifton by State
Birth registrations for Clifton span all 49 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana. The lowest are in Montana, Rhode Island, Nevada. On average, about 1,287 Cliftons were registered per state.
Clifton + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Clifton as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Clifton
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Clifton: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clifton?
We estimate approximately 39,640 people named Clifton 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 8,647 Americans share this first name.
Is Clifton a common name?
Clifton is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 70,600 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Clifton most popular?
Clifton reached peak popularity in 1975, when 1,224 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Clifton is approximately 56 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Clifton a male name?
Clifton is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Clifton Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Clifton Smith, Clifton Johnson, Clifton 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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