Cletis
Of Greek origin, meaning "he who is summoned" or "one who is designated".
Name Census estimates that about 663 living Americans carry the first name Cletis. It is a predominantly male name (91.0% of registrations). The average person named Cletis today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cletis births was 1924 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cletis. 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 Cletis is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cletis' were born before 1969.
People living today
663
~ 1 in 516,975 Americans
Peak year
1924
52 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1996 SSA rank
#4,208
Tracked since 1904
Census
Cletis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 642 people with the first name Cletis, which placed it at #17,263 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
#17,263
National first-name rank
People counted
642
642 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cletis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cletis is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Cletis 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 Cletis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.0% · 430
- Black or African American25.2% · 162
- Two or more races3.7% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Cletis
Cletis leans heavily male at 91.0% of total registrations, but 159 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Cletis as a male name
- Ranked #9,248 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1924 (44 births)
Cletis as a female name
- Ranked #4,208 in 1942
- 6 female births in 1942
- Peak: 1920 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cletis leans strongly male. 579 people counted with this name were male (90.6%), compared with 60 female bearers (9.4%).
Popularity
Cletis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cletis from the 1900s through to the 1990s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 428 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
Cletis 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 Cletis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cletis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia recorded the most babies named Cletis, while Oklahoma, Indiana, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cletis
The name Cletis is believed to have originated from the Greek word "kletos," meaning "called" or "invited." It is a masculine name that has been used primarily in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States.
In ancient times, the name Cletis was not widely used or documented. However, it is possible that it may have been derived from the Greek name Cletus, which has a similar root and meaning. Cletus was a relatively common name in ancient Greece and was also used in early Christian communities.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Cletis appears to be in the late 19th century in the United States. One of the first notable individuals with this name was Cletis Toup (1857-1932), an American outlaw and gunfighter known for his involvement in the Lincoln County War in New Mexico.
Another historical figure bearing the name Cletis was Cletis Ledbetter (1888-1963), an American baseball player who played in the Major Leagues for the St. Louis Browns and the Cleveland Naps between 1909 and 1912.
In the 20th century, Cletis Barnwell (1919-1993) was a prominent African American businessman and civil rights activist from Mississippi. He played a significant role in the desegregation of public facilities and the advancement of voting rights for Black Americans.
Cletis Carr (1936-2008) was an American blues singer and guitarist who recorded for various record labels, including Excello Records and Federal Records, in the 1950s and 1960s.
The name Cletis also gained recognition through Cletis L. Tanner (1942-2008), a United States Army veteran and author who wrote several books about his experiences during the Vietnam War, including "The Last Valley" and "Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran."
While the name Cletis has been relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, ranging from outlaws and athletes to civil rights activists and authors. Despite its obscure origins, the name has managed to leave its mark on various aspects of American history and culture.
People
Cletis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cletis 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
Cletis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cletis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 663 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cletis 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 516,975 US residents.
Is Cletis a common name?
We classify Cletis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,762 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cletis most popular?
The single biggest year for Cletis was 1924, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cletis is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cletis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 642 people with the name Cletis, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,263 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 Cletis 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 Cletis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cletis leans strongly male. 579 people counted with this name were male (90.6%), compared with 60 female bearers (9.4%). 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 Cletis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cletis is White at 67.0%. The next largest groups are Black (25.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Cletis most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cletis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.0% (430 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 Cletis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cletis a male name?
Yes, 91.0% of people registered as Cletis 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 Cletis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cletis 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 Cletis 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 Cletis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.