Claydon
A masculine name of English origin meaning "settlement in a clayey area".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Claydon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Claydon today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Claydon births was 2016 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Claydon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Claydon with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Claydon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2016
6 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2016 SSA rank
#10,985
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Claydon: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Claydon 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 Claydon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Claydon
The given name Claydon originates from Old English and has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon era. It is derived from a combination of two words: "claeg," which means clay or clayey soil, and "dun," meaning a hill or a low ridge. The name likely referred to someone who lived near or on a clay hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Claydon can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. It mentions a settlement called "Clavindone" in Buckinghamshire, which is believed to be the modern-day village of Cleydon.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Claydon was mentioned in the chronicles of the Benedictine monastery at Abingdon. This monk, born around 1120, played a significant role in the abbey's affairs and was known for his piety and dedication to the monastic life.
During the 14th century, a wealthy landowner named John Claydon was recorded as owning substantial properties in the county of Suffolk. He was a prominent figure in the local community and played a role in the regional governance of the time.
In the 16th century, a renowned scholar and theologian named Thomas Claydon (1515-1585) made significant contributions to the English Reformation. He was a Protestant divine and served as the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another notable individual with the name Claydon was Sir Christopher Claydon (1630-1687), a prominent English lawyer and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Northampton and held various legal positions, including that of a Serjeant-at-Law.
While the name Claydon has been predominantly used in England throughout history, it has also found its way into other parts of the world, particularly in countries with strong British influences or colonial ties.
People
Claydon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Claydon 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
Claydon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Claydon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Claydon 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Claydon a common name?
We classify Claydon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Claydon most popular?
The single biggest year for Claydon was 2016, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Claydon is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Claydon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Claydon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Claydon 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.
Is Claydon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Claydon in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Claydon can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Claydon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.