Cleighton
An English masculine name meaning "town on the clay hill".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Cleighton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cleighton today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cleighton births was 2008 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cleighton. 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 Cleighton. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2008
6 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,620
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Cleighton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cleighton from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cleighton 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 Cleighton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cleighton
The given name Cleighton is a modern variation of the English name Clayton, which originated in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "clæg" meaning clay or clayey soil, and "tun" meaning an enclosure or settlement. This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived in a clay-based settlement or near clayey soil.
The earliest recorded use of the name Clayton dates back to the 12th century in England. It was initially used as a surname to identify people from places called Clayton, such as the villages in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Staffordshire. Over time, it transitioned into a given name as well.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Clayton was Sir Robert de Clayton, a 14th-century English knight who served under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War. Another notable bearer of the name was Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1730-1799), an English clergyman and book collector whose library formed the foundation of the British Museum's collection.
In the 19th century, Clayton Shaler (1815-1890), an American geologist and paleontologist, made significant contributions to the fields of geology and paleontology. He served as the director of the Kentucky Geological Survey and was a professor at Harvard University.
The name also has literary connections. Clayton Hamilton (1881-1946) was an American playwright, librettist, and drama critic who wrote extensively on the theory and practice of theater. His works include "The Theory of the Theatre" and "The Book of American Playwrights."
Another noteworthy figure was Clayton Moore (1914-1999), an American actor best known for portraying the iconic role of the Lone Ranger in the television series of the same name from 1949 to 1957.
While the name Cleighton is a more modern spelling variation, it retains the historical roots and meanings associated with its parent name, Clayton. It continues to be used as a given name in various parts of the English-speaking world, carrying on the legacy of its unique etymological journey.
People
Cleighton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cleighton 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
Cleighton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cleighton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cleighton 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Cleighton a common name?
We classify Cleighton as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cleighton most popular?
The single biggest year for Cleighton was 2008, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cleighton is about 16 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 Cleighton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cleighton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cleighton 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 Cleighton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cleighton 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 Cleighton 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 Cleighton?
Want to know how many people share the name Cleighton? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.