Cleal
A masculine name of English origin meaning "young man".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Cleal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cleal today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cleal births was 1917 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cleal. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cleal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1917
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1917 SSA rank
#4,085
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Cleal: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Cleal 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 Cleal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Cleal
The name Cleal is believed to have originated from the Old English word "clǣne," which means "clean" or "pure." This name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century AD.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cleal can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as a surname in this historical document, indicating its presence in medieval England.
One of the first notable individuals with the name Cleal was Sir John Cleal, a prominent English knight who fought alongside King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century. He was renowned for his bravery and loyalty, and his name is mentioned in several historical accounts of the battles he participated in.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Cleal Browne gained recognition as a skilled navigator and explorer. He accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his famous circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580 and is credited with contributing to the successful completion of this remarkable voyage.
During the 17th century, a man named Cleal Edmunds made a significant impact in the field of education. He founded one of the earliest schools in colonial America, which played a crucial role in educating the children of the early settlers.
Another prominent individual with the name Cleal was Sir Cleal Huntington, a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He played a crucial role in several battles against the Continental Army and is remembered for his strategic military leadership.
In the 19th century, Cleal Jameson, a renowned Scottish chemist and inventor, made significant contributions to the field of industrial chemistry. He is credited with developing several groundbreaking processes and techniques that revolutionized the production of various chemical compounds.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Cleal. While the name may not be as common today, it has left an indelible mark on various fields, from warfare and exploration to education and science.
People
Cleal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cleal 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
Cleal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cleal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cleal 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 - US residents.
Is Cleal a common name?
We classify Cleal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cleal most popular?
The single biggest year for Cleal was 1917, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cleal is about 0 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 Cleal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cleal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cleal 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 Cleal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cleal 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 Cleal 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 common is the name Cleal?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Cleal at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.