Cliffton
From the cliffs or cliff town; a masculine name of English origin.
Name Census estimates that about 1,594 living Americans carry the first name Cliffton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cliffton today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cliffton births was 1982 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cliffton. 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
1.6K
~ 1 in 215,028 Americans
Peak year
1982
67 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,647
Tracked since 1912
Census
Cliffton in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,226 people with the first name Cliffton, which placed it at #10,724 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
#10,724
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,226 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cliffton
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cliffton is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Cliffton 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 Cliffton at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.0% · 674
- Black or African American32.1% · 393
- Two or more races5.2% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 24
Popularity
Cliffton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cliffton from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 468 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cliffton 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 Cliffton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clifftons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Cliffton, while New York, North Carolina, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cliffton
The name Cliffton has its origins in the English language, deriving from the combination of the words "cliff" and "town." This name likely emerged during the medieval period in England, referring to a settlement situated near or upon a cliff.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where a place called Cliftun is mentioned. This entry suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century, possibly as a descriptive term for a coastal or elevated settlement.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Cliffton was primarily associated with geographical locations rather than individuals. However, as the use of surnames became more prevalent, some families may have adopted the name Cliffton as a form of toponymic surname, indicating their place of origin or residence.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Cliffton was John Cliffton (c. 1435-1516), an English Catholic priest and theologian. He served as the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and was known for his writings on religious matters.
Another historical figure with the name Cliffton was Sir Gervase Cliffton (c. 1587-1666), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I. He played a role in the English Civil War, initially supporting the Royalist cause before switching allegiances to the Parliamentarians.
In the literary realm, the name Cliffton is associated with William Cliffton (1772-1799), an English poet and writer. He is best known for his collection of poems titled "The Outcast, and Other Poetical Pieces," published in 1796.
During the 18th century, Thomas Cliffton (1718-1788) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Derby Assembly Rooms and the Cliffton Hotel in Scarborough.
In the field of science, the name Cliffton is linked to Robert Cliffton (1805-1883), an English mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1848.
While the name Cliffton has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, primarily through migration and cultural exchange. However, its historical significance remains firmly rooted in its English origins, reflecting the linguistic and cultural heritage of the regions where it first emerged.
People
Cliffton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cliffton 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
Cliffton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cliffton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,594 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cliffton 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 215,028 US residents.
Is Cliffton a common name?
We classify Cliffton as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,866 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cliffton most popular?
The single biggest year for Cliffton was 1982, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cliffton is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cliffton in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,226 people with the name Cliffton, or 0.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,724 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 Cliffton 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 Cliffton?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cliffton appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,231 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Cliffton?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cliffton is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.1%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Cliffton most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cliffton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.0% (674 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 Cliffton in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cliffton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cliffton 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 Cliffton still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cliffton 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 Cliffton 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 Cliffton?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Cliffton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.