Clell
Clell is a variant spelling of the masculine name Clell, derived from a surname meaning "bell-ringer."
Name Census estimates that about 313 living Americans carry the first name Clell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Clell today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clell births was 1924 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clell. 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
- • The typical person named Clell is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clells were born before 1962.
People living today
313
~ 1 in 1,095,062 Americans
Peak year
1924
49 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1988 SSA rank
#6,561
Tracked since 1884
Census
Clell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 373 people with the first name Clell, which placed it at #25,428 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#25,428
National first-name rank
People counted
373
373 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clell is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Clell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Clell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 331
- Black or African American6.2% · 23
- Two or more races2.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 3
Popularity
Clell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clell from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 327 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clell 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 Clell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa recorded the most babies named Clell, while Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Clell
The name Clell is a unique and intriguing one with a rich history that spans several cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Celtic and Germanic roots, where it was likely derived from the word "claidh," meaning "battle" or "warrior."
In the Middle Ages, variations of the name, such as "Clell" and "Clel," were found in various regions of Europe, particularly in areas with strong Celtic and Germanic influences. The name was often associated with individuals who displayed bravery and strength on the battlefield.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clell can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of epic tales dating back to the 13th century. In these stories, a warrior named Clell is mentioned as a fierce fighter who was renowned for his skills in combat.
As time passed, the name Clell gained popularity across various parts of Europe. In the 16th century, a notable figure named Clell the Younger was a prominent merchant and trader in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. His success and influence in the commercial world helped to further popularize the name.
During the 17th century, a Scottish nobleman named Clell MacDonald played a significant role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, fighting alongside the Royalist forces. His bravery on the battlefield and unwavering loyalty to the Crown earned him a place in the historical records of that time.
In the 19th century, an American author and poet named Clell Miller gained recognition for his works, which often explored themes of nature and the human experience. His poems were widely published and admired during his lifetime, further contributing to the name's recognition.
Another notable figure was Clell Pruitt, an American baseball player who played for various teams in the early 20th century, including the St. Louis Browns and the Philadelphia Athletics. His impressive career as a skilled outfielder and his contributions to the sport of baseball have left a lasting legacy.
While the name Clell may not be as common as it once was, its rich history and unique origins continue to captivate those who appreciate the significance of names and their cultural roots. Whether associated with warriors, merchants, authors, or athletes, the name Clell has left an indelible mark on the tapestry of human history.
People
Clell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clell 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
Clell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 313 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clell 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 1,095,062 US residents.
Is Clell a common name?
We classify Clell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,221 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clell most popular?
The single biggest year for Clell was 1924, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clell is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Clell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 373 people with the name Clell, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,428 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Clell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Clell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Clell leans strongly male. 372 people counted with this name were male (97.4%), compared with 10 female bearers (2.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Clell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clell is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Clell most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Clell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (331 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Clell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clell 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 Clell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clell 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 Clell 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.
How many Americans are named Clell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.