Clevie
A diminutive form of the feminine name Cleva, likely rooted in the word "clever."
Name Census estimates that about 19 living Americans carry the first name Clevie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Clevie today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clevie births was 1917 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clevie. 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 Clevie is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clevies were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Clevie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
19
~ 1 in 18,039,702 Americans
Peak year
1917
19 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1962 SSA rank
#4,147
Tracked since 1884
Census
Clevie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 99 people with the first name Clevie, which placed it at #53,419 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
#53,419
National first-name rank
People counted
99
99 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clevie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clevie is White at 56.6%. The next largest groups are Black (37.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Clevie 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 Clevie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.6% · 56
- Black or African American37.4% · 37
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Clevie
Clevie leans heavily female at 80.4% of total registrations, but 29 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Clevie as a male name
- Ranked #4,147 in 1962
- 5 male births in 1962
- Peak: 1917 (7 births)
Clevie as a female name
- Ranked #4,478 in 1940
- 5 female births in 1940
- Peak: 1917 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Clevie on both sides of the split. Of the 103 people counted with this name, 60 were male (58.3%) and 43 were female (41.7%).
Popularity
Clevie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clevie from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 59 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
Clevie 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 Clevie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clevies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Clevie
The name Clevie has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, specifically the Old English and Old Norse tongues spoken by the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian people during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic root "klav-," which means "praise" or "fame," and is closely related to the Old English word "cleofe," meaning "renowned" or "illustrious."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clevie can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record compiled in the late 9th century. It mentions a warrior named Clevie who fought alongside King Alfred the Great against the Viking invaders in the late 9th century. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Anglo-Saxons during that time period.
In the 11th century, a Benedictine monk named Clevie of Crowland is recorded as having lived and worked in the Abbey of Crowland in Lincolnshire, England. He was known for his scholarly pursuits and his contributions to the abbey's library.
During the Middle Ages, the name Clevie also appeared in various Germanic regions, particularly in the areas now known as Germany and the Netherlands. One notable figure was Clevie von Buren, a Dutch knight who fought in the Crusades in the 12th century and was renowned for his bravery and military prowess.
In the 14th century, a Scottish nobleman named Clevie Douglas is mentioned in historical records as a loyal supporter of King Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He played a crucial role in several battles against the English forces.
Another famous bearer of the name was Clevie Plantagenet, a member of the English royal family who lived in the 15th century. She was a daughter of King Henry VI and was known for her intelligence and interest in scholarly pursuits.
While the name Clevie has its roots in the Germanic languages, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over the centuries, albeit with slightly different spellings or pronunciations. However, its underlying meaning of "praise" or "fame" has remained consistent throughout its long history.
People
Clevie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clevie 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
Clevie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clevie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clevie 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 18,039,702 US residents.
Is Clevie a common name?
We classify Clevie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 148 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clevie most popular?
The single biggest year for Clevie was 1917, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clevie is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Clevie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 99 people with the name Clevie, or 0.03 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #53,419 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 Clevie 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 Clevie?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Clevie on both sides of the split. Of the 103 people counted with this name, 60 were male (58.3%) and 43 were female (41.7%). 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 Clevie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clevie is White at 56.6%. The next largest groups are Black (37.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Clevie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Clevie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.6% (56 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 Clevie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clevie a female name?
Yes, 80.4% of people registered as Clevie in the SSA data are female. 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 Clevie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clevie 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 Clevie 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 people are named Clevie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.