Clifton
Clifton was the 1907th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 82 babies. Its best year was 1915, when it ranked 144th; the most babies were born in 1975 (1,214). Over the last ten years it has moved down 431 places. More babies were named Clifton in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning "settlement by a cliff" · Old English, English
Say it KLIF-tun /ˈklɪftən/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,907 boys, down 401 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 82boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19751,214 babies
- Total since 1880
- 70,685babies recorded
What does the name Clifton mean?
Clifton is an English surname taken from one of the many places of that name in England. The place-name is Old English clif, "cliff, steep slope", plus tūn, "farmstead, settlement", so "the settlement on or by the slope". As with many place-name surnames, it came into use as a first name in the 19th century, especially in the United States. Cliff is the usual short form.
clif (Old English, “cliff, slope”)tūn (Old English, “farmstead, settlement”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Cliff, Clifford.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Clifton', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Clifton (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for Clifton
The usual nicknames for Clifton are Cliff. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Clifton in the last five years, 41 were named Cliff, against 9 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliff · also for Clifford | Traditional | #2,895 | 185 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Cliftons go by each one.
Clifton popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 436 since 1908.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,907 | 82 |
| 2020 | #1,506 | 112 |
| 2010 | #1,519 | 107 |
| 2000 | #739 | 232 |
| 1990 | #473 | 440 |
| 1980 | #269 | 804 |
| 1970 | #301 | 672 |
| 1960 | #270 | 873 |
| 1950 | #201 | 1,024 |
| 1940 | #202 | 643 |
| 1930 | #184 | 755 |
| 1920 | #157 | 910 |
| 1910 | #168 | 178 |
| 1900 | #190 | 107 |
| 1890 | #219 | 57 |
| 1880 | #273 | 38 |
How popular is Clifton, counting every spelling?
Clifton is the most common spelling of a name family that had 88 boys in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 88 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 82 | #1,907 | 451 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Clifton?
82 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Clifton (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Clifton 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 102 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Clifton.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Clifton?
About 36,200 people born in the US named Clifton are alive today, with a median age of 55; half are between 42 and 69. That makes Clifton mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
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.
Clifton by state
How common Clifton was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Carolina (2.3×). In 38 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 Clifton: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Clifton, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Clifton · Sibling names for Clifton
Questions about the name Clifton
What does Clifton mean?
Clifton means “"settlement by a cliff"” (Old English, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Clifton?
Clifton was the 1907th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 82 babies. Its best year was 1915, when it ranked 144th; the most babies were born in 1975 (1,214). Over the last ten years it has moved down 431 places. More babies were named Clifton in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Clifton a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Clifton in the US.
Where is Clifton most popular?
In 2021–2025, Clifton was most common in North Carolina (0.12 per 1,000 boys), followed by Mississippi and Georgia.