Cliford
Person who lives near a cliff or slope.
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Cliford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cliford today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cliford births was 1925 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cliford. 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 Cliford is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clifords were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cliford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
1925
14 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1987 SSA rank
#7,146
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Cliford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cliford from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 103 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
Cliford 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 Cliford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cliford
The given name Cliford has its origins in Old English, deriving from the elements "clif" meaning cliff or slope, and "ford" meaning a shallow crossing of a river or stream. It is believed to have emerged as a surname during the Anglo-Saxon period, likely referring to someone who lived near a cliff or hillside with a ford or stream crossing.
The earliest recorded use of Cliford as a given name can be traced back to the late 12th century in England. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Cliford of Plympton, a landowner from Devon, England, mentioned in records from around 1195.
In the 13th century, a notable figure with the name Cliford was Roger de Cliford, an English baron and military commander who served under King Henry III. He was born around 1221 and played a significant role in the Second Barons' War against the royal forces.
Another historical figure named Cliford was Thomas Cliford, 8th Baron de Cliford, who lived from 1363 to 1391. He was a prominent English noble and landowner in Westmorland and Yorkshire, and served as Lord Warden of the West Marches.
In the 16th century, Henry Cliford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland (1517-1570), was a notable English peer and military leader during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He is remembered for his maritime expeditions against the Spanish and his role in the Anglo-Spanish War.
A more recent historical figure with the name Cliford was Cliford Sifton (1861-1929), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier. He played a significant role in the settlement of Western Canada and the development of immigration policies.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the given name Cliford, reflecting its long-standing use across various periods and contexts. While the name may have evolved in its spelling and popularity over time, its roots can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era and its association with geographic features such as cliffs and fords.
People
Cliford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cliford 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
Cliford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cliford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cliford 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Cliford a common name?
We classify Cliford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 286 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cliford most popular?
The single biggest year for Cliford was 1925, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cliford is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cliford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cliford 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.