Cleat
A name derived from the word referring to the spike on a shoe or boot.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Cleat. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cleat today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cleat births was 1921 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cleat. 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 Cleat. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1921
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1921 SSA rank
#4,453
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Cleat: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Cleat 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 Cleat during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Cleat
The given name Cleat has its origins in Old English, dating back to the 8th century AD. It is derived from the word "cleats," which referred to small pieces of wood or metal used to secure something in place. The name was likely given to children born in rural areas where their parents worked as farmers, woodworkers, or blacksmiths.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cleat can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. It mentions a landowner named Cleat who held property in the county of Essex, England.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cleat was relatively uncommon, but it gained some popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable figure from this period was Cleat Woodward, an English carpenter born in 1542 who is credited with designing and constructing several ornate timber-framed buildings in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
In the 18th century, Cleat Barker (1711-1789) was a renowned English inventor and clockmaker. He is best known for his contributions to the development of the chronometer, a highly accurate timepiece used for navigation at sea.
The 19th century saw the birth of Cleat Ingram (1824-1898), a Scottish author and journalist who wrote extensively on topics related to agriculture and rural life. His book, "The Cleat Chronicles," published in 1870, is a collection of essays and stories depicting the lives of farmers and villagers in the Scottish Highlands.
In the early 20th century, Cleat Harrington (1902-1981) was an American baseball player who played as an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. He was known for his exceptional defensive skills and earned the nickname "The Cleat" for his impressive catches in the outfield.
While the name Cleat has fallen out of common usage in recent times, it remains a unique and historically significant name, with roots tracing back to the rural and industrial traditions of medieval England.
People
Cleat + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cleat 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
Cleat: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cleat?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cleat 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 Cleat a common name?
We classify Cleat 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 Cleat most popular?
The single biggest year for Cleat was 1921, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cleat 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 Cleat in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cleat a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cleat 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 Cleat still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cleat 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 Cleat 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 share the name Cleat?
Want to know how many people share the name Cleat? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.