Clesson
A variant form of the Greek name Kleason meaning "calling, invitation".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Clesson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Clesson today is around 87 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clesson births was 1918 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clesson. 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 Clesson is about 87 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clessons were born before 1949.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Clesson. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1918
10 babies that year
Average age
87
years old
1941 SSA rank
#3,586
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Clesson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clesson from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 23 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Clesson 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 Clesson 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 Clesson
The name Clesson originates from the Old English language and can be traced back to the 8th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "clea" meaning "hill" and "son" meaning "son of". This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who lived on or near a hill.
Clesson was a relatively common name among the Anglo-Saxons, particularly in the kingdom of Mercia, which covered large parts of central England. The earliest known record of the name appears in the Domesday Book, a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Several individuals with the name Clesson are listed as landholders in various counties.
During the Middle Ages, the name Clesson was occasionally found in religious texts and chronicles, though it was never as popular as some other Anglo-Saxon names. One notable bearer of the name was Clesson the Scribe, a 12th-century monk from the abbey of St. Albans who is credited with copying and preserving several important manuscripts.
In the 14th century, a man named Clesson Fitzherbert served as a member of the King's Council under Edward III. He was born in 1310 and played a significant role in the legal and administrative affairs of the kingdom during his lifetime.
Another individual of note was Clesson Chaucer, a 15th-century English poet and author who was a distant relative of the renowned writer Geoffrey Chaucer. Clesson Chaucer's work, though not as well-known as his famous kinsman's, was influential in the development of early English literature.
The name Clesson seems to have fallen out of widespread use by the 16th century, though it continued to appear sporadically in historical records. One of the last notable figures with this name was Clesson Cromwell, a 17th-century Puritan soldier who fought alongside Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. He was born in 1612 and died in battle in 1645.
While the name Clesson is now considered quite rare, it remains an intriguing link to the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the Anglo-Saxon period in England.
People
Clesson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clesson 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
Clesson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clesson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clesson 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Clesson a common name?
We classify Clesson as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clesson most popular?
The single biggest year for Clesson was 1918, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clesson is about 87 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 Clesson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clesson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clesson 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 Clesson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clesson 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 Clesson 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 Clesson as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Clesson, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.