Clarence
Derived from the Latin name "Clarus", meaning bright or clear.
Name Census estimates that about 94,567 living Americans carry the first name Clarence. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Clarence today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clarence births was 1921 (7,367 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clarence. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Clarence is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,859 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Clarence is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clarences were born before 1970.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Clarence have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
95K
~ 1 in 3,624 Americans
Peak year
1921
7,367 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,558
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Clarence
Out of the 305,304 babies given the name Clarence since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Clarence as a male name
- Ranked #1,558 in 2024
- 111 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (7,332 births)
Clarence as a female name
- Ranked #13,723 in 1992
- 5 female births in 1992
- Peak: 1928 (48 births)
Popularity
Clarence: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clarence from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 66,979 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clarence by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Clarence during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clarences live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Clarence, while Nevada, Alaska, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5,219 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Clarence
The name Clarence has its roots in the Latin language, tracing back to the Roman era. It is derived from the ancient Roman family name "Claudius," which itself comes from the Latin word "claudere," meaning "to limp" or "to close." The name Claudius was held by several prominent figures in Roman history, including the Roman emperor Claudius who ruled from 41 to 54 AD.
The transition from Claudius to Clarence is believed to have occurred during the Middle Ages, when the name underwent a linguistic transformation through its adoption by the Frankish and Germanic peoples. The addition of the "-ence" suffix, which was common in Old French and Medieval Latin names, gave rise to the name Clarence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clarence can be found in the 9th century, when it was used by a Frankish nobleman named Clarence de Guînes, who lived in the County of Guînes in northern France. This region, situated near the English Channel, played a significant role in the spread of the name across Europe and eventually to England.
In England, the name Clarence gained prominence during the 14th century, particularly through its association with the House of Plantagenet. Lionel, the third son of King Edward III, was granted the title of Duke of Clarence in 1362. This royal connection helped to popularize the name among the English nobility and gentry.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Clarence. One of the most famous was Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956), the American entrepreneur and inventor who pioneered the process of freezing food for preservation. Another prominent figure was Clarence Thomas (born 1948), the American jurist who has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991.
Other famous bearers of the name include Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), the renowned American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union; Clarence Decatur Howe (1886-1960), a Canadian engineer and politician who served as a cabinet minister under several prime ministers; and Clarence E. Mulford (1883-1956), the American author best known for creating the popular fictional character Hopalong Cassidy.
While the name Clarence has seen periods of popularity and decline over the centuries, its enduring legacy can be traced back to its ancient Roman origins and its subsequent adoption by various European cultures, ultimately becoming a part of the English naming tradition and gaining recognition through notable historical figures.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Clarence
People
Clarence + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clarence as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Clarence: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clarence?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 94,567 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clarence going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,624 US residents.
Is Clarence a common name?
We classify Clarence as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 305,304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clarence most popular?
The single biggest year for Clarence was 1921, when 7,367 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clarence is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Clarence a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Clarence in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.