Cleven
An English name likely derived from the surname "Cleaver".
Name Census estimates that about 222 living Americans carry the first name Cleven. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cleven today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cleven births was 1920 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cleven. 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 Cleven is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clevens were born before 1965.
People living today
222
~ 1 in 1,543,938 Americans
Peak year
1920
21 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1989 SSA rank
#7,119
Tracked since 1908
Popularity
Cleven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cleven from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 124 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
Cleven 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 Cleven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clevens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Cleven, while South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cleven
The given name Cleven has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "clif" and "fen," which together roughly translate to "cliff marsh" or "cliff fen." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a marshy area or wetlands close to cliffs or steep hillsides.
In the early medieval period, the name was primarily found in regions of England where Anglo-Saxon settlements were established, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Variations in spelling, such as "Cleofen" and "Cleoven," were not uncommon due to the lack of standardized orthography at the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cleven can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named "Cleven" from the county of Sussex.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Cleven remained relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals bore this name. One such person was Cleven of York, a 12th-century English monk and chronicler who wrote a history of the Abbey of St. Mary's in York.
In the 14th century, Cleven de Bury, a renowned architect and master mason, is credited with the design and construction of several churches and cathedrals in England, including the iconic nave of York Minster.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some prominence with Cleven Gower, a 16th-century English poet and playwright. Gower's works, though not widely known today, were celebrated in his time for their lyrical verse and innovative use of language.
In the 17th century, Cleven Cromwell, a distant relative of Oliver Cromwell, was a prominent military leader and played a crucial role in the English Civil War, serving under the Parliamentarian forces.
Moving into the 18th century, Cleven Hawkins, an English naturalist and explorer, made significant contributions to the study of flora and fauna in the Americas, documenting numerous species during his expeditions to the Caribbean and South America between 1720 and 1743.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Cleven throughout history, demonstrating its enduring presence, albeit relatively rare, across various periods and fields of endeavor.
People
Cleven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cleven 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
Cleven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cleven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 222 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cleven 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 1,543,938 US residents.
Is Cleven a common name?
We classify Cleven as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 583 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cleven most popular?
The single biggest year for Cleven was 1920, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cleven is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cleven a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cleven 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.