Clifford
Clifford was the 1352nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 139 babies. Its best year was 1909, when it ranked 57th; the most babies were born in 1925 (3,424). Over the last ten years it has moved down 112 places. More babies were named Clifford in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning ford by a cliff · English, Old English
Say it KLIF-erd /ˈklɪfɚd/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,352 boys, down 8 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 139boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19253,424 babies
- Total since 1880
- 190,268babies recorded
What does the name Clifford mean?
Clifford is an English surname from several places named Clifford, from Old English clif 'cliff, steep bank' and ford 'ford', so a river crossing by a steep bank, as Wiktionary notes. The Clifford family were powerful barons in the north of England; 'Fair Rosamund' Clifford was a mistress of Henry II. It became a common American first name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; Clifford the Big Red Dog is a later association.
clif (Old English, “cliff, steep bank”)ford (Old English, “ford”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Cliff, Clifton.
See also: English names, names that mean water, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Clifford', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Nicknames for Clifford
The usual nicknames for Clifford are Cliff. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Clifford in the last five years, 26 were named Cliff, against 8 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff · also for Clifton | Traditional | #2,895 | 185 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Cliffords go by each one.
Clifford popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 2,019 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,352 | 139 |
| 2020 | #1,344 | 133 |
| 2010 | #1,233 | 143 |
| 2000 | #753 | 224 |
| 1990 | #346 | 700 |
| 1980 | #202 | 1,214 |
| 1970 | #176 | 1,582 |
| 1960 | #141 | 2,464 |
| 1950 | #100 | 2,940 |
| 1940 | #94 | 2,185 |
| 1930 | #73 | 2,696 |
| 1920 | #59 | 3,291 |
| 1910 | #66 | 551 |
| 1900 | #66 | 409 |
| 1890 | #83 | 207 |
| 1880 | #107 | 127 |
How popular is Clifford, counting every spelling?
Clifford has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,287 for boys in 2025, against #1,352 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Clifford?
139 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Clifford (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Clifford born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 60 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Clifford.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Clifford?
About 76,900 people born in the US named Clifford are alive today, with a median age of 64; half are between 49 and 74. That makes Clifford a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Clifford by state
How common Clifford was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wisconsin (2.5×). In 31 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Clifford: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Clifford, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Clifford · Sibling names for Clifford
Questions about the name Clifford
What does Clifford mean?
Clifford means “ford by a cliff” (English, Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Clifford?
Clifford was the 1352nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 139 babies. Its best year was 1909, when it ranked 57th; the most babies were born in 1925 (3,424). Over the last ten years it has moved down 112 places. More babies were named Clifford in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Clifford a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Clifford in the US.
Where is Clifford most popular?
In 2021–2025, Clifford was most common in Wisconsin (0.20 per 1,000 boys), followed by Minnesota and South Carolina.