Clegg
Derived from the Old English clan name referring to a dweller by a craggy or rocky place.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Clegg. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Clegg today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clegg births was 1916 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clegg. 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 Clegg. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1916
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1916 SSA rank
#4,021
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Clegg: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Clegg 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 Clegg 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 Clegg
The name Clegg is of English origin and has its roots in the Old English language. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "claeg," which referred to a type of clay or soil. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational name for someone who worked with clay or lived in an area with a particular soil composition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clegg dates back to the 13th century in England. In the Rotuli Hundredorum, a census-like record from 1273, there is a mention of a person named Robert Clegg residing in Yorkshire. This provides evidence that the name was in use during the medieval period in the northern regions of England.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Clegg. In the 16th century, John Clegg (c. 1550-1616) was an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1612 to 1613.
Samuel Clegg (1781-1861) was a British watchmaker and inventor from Manchester, known for his contributions to the development of chronometers and other timepieces in the early 19th century.
In the realm of literature, Samuel Clegg Jr. (1781-1861) was an English author and poet who wrote extensively on religious themes and published several works, including "Baptismal Regeneration" and "The Christian's Golden Prospect."
Arthur Clegg (1857-1938) was a British politician and trade unionist who served as the Member of Parliament for Sowerby from 1910 to 1918, representing the Labour Party.
In the field of sports, Brian Clegg (born 1955) is a British former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for clubs like Everton and Manchester City during the 1970s and 1980s.
While these are just a few examples, the name Clegg has been present in various contexts throughout history, spanning areas such as religion, literature, politics, and sports, reflecting its enduring presence in English culture and society.
People
Clegg + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clegg 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
Clegg: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clegg?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clegg 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 Clegg a common name?
We classify Clegg 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 Clegg most popular?
The single biggest year for Clegg was 1916, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clegg 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 Clegg in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clegg a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clegg 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 Clegg still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clegg 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 Clegg 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 have the name Clegg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.