Clovia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "shoot" or "sprout".
Name Census estimates that about 68 living Americans carry the first name Clovia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Clovia today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clovia births was 1949 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clovia. 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 Clovia is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clovias were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Clovia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
68
~ 1 in 5,040,505 Americans
Peak year
1949
22 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1965 SSA rank
#6,692
Tracked since 1949
Census
Clovia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 139 people with the first name Clovia, which placed it at #47,200 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
#47,200
National first-name rank
People counted
139
139 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clovia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clovia is White at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Black (41.7%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Clovia 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 Clovia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.9% · 61
- Black or African American41.7% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 4
- Two or more races1.4% · 2
Popularity
Clovia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clovia from the 1940s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 68 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
Clovia 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 Clovia 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 Clovia
The name Clovia is derived from the Latin word "clovis," meaning "famous warrior." It originated during the medieval period in the regions that are now modern-day France and Germany.
The name rose to prominence due to its association with Clovis I, the founder of the Merovingian dynasty and the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under his rule. He reigned from 481 to 511 AD and played a pivotal role in the spread of Christianity throughout western Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clovia can be found in the 9th-century medieval text "Vita Sanctae Geretrudis," which chronicles the life of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. In this text, Clovia is mentioned as a noble woman who lived during the 7th century and was a devout follower of Saint Gertrude.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Clovia. One such figure was Clovia of Córdoba, a 10th-century Spanish noblewoman who played a significant role in the cultural and intellectual life of the city during the Caliphate of Córdoba.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Clovia de' Medici, a 16th-century Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was a member of the illustrious Medici family and was known for her patronage of artists and scholars during the Renaissance.
In the 17th century, Clovia Sforza was an Italian noblewoman and military leader who played a crucial role in the defense of her family's territories during the Italian Wars. She was renowned for her bravery and strategic acumen on the battlefield.
Clovia Chigi, an 18th-century Italian aristocrat and art collector, was another notable figure who bore this name. She amassed a significant collection of artwork and was a patron of many artists during her lifetime.
Finally, Clovia Trajan, a 19th-century French writer and feminist activist, was a prominent figure in the early women's rights movement. She advocated for gender equality and the advancement of women's education and political rights.
People
Clovia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clovia 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
Clovia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clovia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 68 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clovia 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 5,040,505 US residents.
Is Clovia a common name?
We classify Clovia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 100 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clovia most popular?
The single biggest year for Clovia was 1949, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clovia is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Clovia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 139 people with the name Clovia, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #47,200 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 Clovia 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 Clovia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Clovia appears almost entirely female. Of the 137 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Clovia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Clovia is White at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Black (41.7%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Clovia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Clovia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.9% (61 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 Clovia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clovia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clovia 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 Clovia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clovia 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 Clovia 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 Clovia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.