Clement
Derived from the Latin name Clemens, meaning "merciful, mild-tempered".
Name Census estimates that about 5,321 living Americans carry the first name Clement. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Clement today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clement births was 1918 (344 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clement. 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.
People living today
5.3K
~ 1 in 64,415 Americans
Peak year
1918
344 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,260
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Clement
Out of the 14,109 babies given the name Clement since 1880, 100.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Clement as a male name
- Ranked #2,260 in 2024
- 63 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (344 births)
Clement as a female name
- Ranked #3,772 in 1936
- 6 female births in 1936
- Peak: 1936 (6 births)
Popularity
Clement: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clement from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,842 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
Clement 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 Clement during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clements live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, California recorded the most babies named Clement, while Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 206 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Clement
The name Clement has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Roman times. It derives from the Latin word "clemens," which means "mild" or "merciful." This name was initially used as a surname or cognomen in ancient Rome, given to individuals who displayed qualities of gentleness and compassion.
One of the earliest known references to the name Clement can be found in the New Testament of the Bible. Clement is mentioned as a fellow worker of the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Philippians (4:3). This biblical connection likely contributed to the name's popularity among early Christians.
In the 1st century AD, Clement of Rome, also known as Pope Clement I, was one of the earliest popes and an important figure in the early Church. He wrote a letter to the Church of Corinth, now known as the First Epistle of Clement, which is one of the earliest surviving Christian writings outside the New Testament.
During the Middle Ages, the name Clement gained widespread use throughout Europe, particularly in France and England. Notable historical figures bearing this name include Clement of Alexandria (circa 150-215 AD), an early Christian theologian and philosopher, and Clement VI (1291-1352), who was Pope from 1342 to 1352.
In the Renaissance period, Clement VII (1478-1534) was an influential Pope who played a significant role in the political and religious affairs of Europe during his reign from 1523 to 1534. Another notable figure was Clement IX (1600-1669), who served as Pope from 1667 to 1669 and worked to reconcile differences within the Catholic Church.
The name Clement has also been associated with several monarchs and rulers throughout history. Clement I of Navarre (1259-1285) was a King of Navarre and Count of Champagne in the 13th century. Clement II of Bavaria (1292-1346) was a Duke of Lower Bavaria and a member of the House of Wittelsbach.
Other famous individuals named Clement include Clement Attlee (1883-1967), a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and Clement Greenberg (1909-1994), an influential American art critic and essayist known for his contributions to the field of modern art criticism.
People
Clement + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clement 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
Clement: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clement?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,321 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clement 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 64,415 US residents.
Is Clement a common name?
We classify Clement as "Rare". It ranks above 96.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 14,109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clement most popular?
The single biggest year for Clement was 1918, when 344 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clement is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Clement a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clement 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.
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.