Cleve
A given name of English origin meaning "valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1,893 living Americans carry the first name Cleve. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Cleve today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cleve births was 1951 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cleve. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 181,064 Americans
Peak year
1951
83 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2013 SSA rank
#4,677
Tracked since 1882
Census
Cleve in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,840 people with the first name Cleve, which placed it at #8,005 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
#8,005
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,840 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cleve
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cleve is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) 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 Cleve 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 Cleve at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.9% · 1,103
- Black or African American31.3% · 576
- Two or more races3.7% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 28
Gender
Gender distribution for Cleve
Out of the 4,529 babies given the name Cleve since 1880, 99.5% 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.
Cleve as a male name
- Ranked #12,491 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 1951 (83 births)
Cleve as a female name
- Ranked #4,677 in 1930
- 5 female births in 1930
- Peak: 1918 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cleve leans strongly male. 1,804 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 36 female bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Cleve: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cleve from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 682 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cleve 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 Cleve during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cleves live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Cleve, while New York, Indiana, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cleve
The name Cleve originates from Old English and dates back to the 5th century. It is derived from the Old English word "clif," meaning a steep rock, cliff, or slope. The name was initially used to describe someone who lived near or on a cliff.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Cleve was primarily found in Anglo-Saxon regions of England. It was a common name among those living in areas with rocky terrain or near cliffs. Over time, the spelling evolved from "Clif" to "Cleve" and "Cleeve."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cleve can be found in the Domesday Book, a historical record of land ownership in England compiled in 1086 by order of King William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Clive" and refers to several landowners and villages in various counties.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cleve. One of the earliest was Cleve of Mercia (c. 650 - c. 700), an Anglo-Saxon prince and later a Christian saint. Another was Cleve of Nantes (c. 890 - c. 950), a Breton monk and writer who authored several religious works.
In the 13th century, Cleve de Bury (c. 1200 - c. 1270) was an English cleric and author who wrote on philosophy and theology. During the Renaissance, Cleve van Someren (1506 - 1572) was a Dutch painter known for his religious works and portraits.
In more recent times, Cleve Woodson (1921 - 2010) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer who played with various big bands and recorded several albums. Cleve Mercer (1909 - 1992) was an American football player and coach, most notably for the University of Kansas.
While the name Cleve has its roots in Old English and was once common in Britain, it has become relatively rare in modern times. However, its unique history and connection to the natural landscape of cliffs and rocky terrain make it a distinctive name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Cleve + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cleve 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
Cleve: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cleve?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,893 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cleve 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 181,064 US residents.
Is Cleve a common name?
We classify Cleve as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,529 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cleve most popular?
The single biggest year for Cleve was 1951, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cleve is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cleve in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,840 people with the name Cleve, or 0.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,005 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 Cleve 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 Cleve?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cleve leans strongly male. 1,804 people counted with this name were male (98.0%), compared with 36 female bearers (2.0%). 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 Cleve?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cleve is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) 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 Cleve most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cleve in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (1,103 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 Cleve in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cleve a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Cleve 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 Cleve still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cleve 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 Cleve 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 common is the name Cleve?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Cleve at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.