Clytee
A variant spelling of the feminine name Chloe, deriving from Greek, signifying "blooming" or "fertility".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Clytee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Clytee today is around 97 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Clytee births was 1926 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Clytee. 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 Clytee is about 97 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Clytees were born before 1939.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Clytee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1926
13 babies that year
Average age
97
years old
1940 SSA rank
#3,948
Tracked since 1900
Popularity
Clytee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Clytee from the 1900s through to the 1940s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 78 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
Clytee 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 Clytee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Clytees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Clytee
The name Clytee has its origins in ancient Greek mythology. It is a variant of the name Clytemnestra, who was a prominent figure in Greek legends and tragedies. The name Clytemnestra is derived from the Greek words "klytós" meaning "famous" and "mēstra" meaning "womb" or "mother".
Clytemnestra was the wife of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, in Homer's epic, the Iliad. She played a pivotal role in the tragic events surrounding the Trojan War and the House of Atreus. Her name, and its variant Clytee, have been used throughout history, often reflecting the strong and complex character of the mythological figure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clytee can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who lived around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Sappho's writings, though fragmentary, have preserved the name and its association with Greek mythology.
In the 5th century BCE, the Athenian playwright Aeschylus featured Clytemnestra as a central character in his famous tragedy, the Oresteia. This work explored the themes of revenge, justice, and the consequences of actions, with Clytemnestra's character being both revered and reviled for her actions.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Clytee or its variants. One such figure was Clytee Jephcott (1861-1944), a British novelist and playwright known for her works depicting social issues and women's experiences.
Another notable bearer of the name was Clytee Roelofse (1922-2002), a South African botanist and plant collector who made significant contributions to the study of the flora of southern Africa.
In the realm of classical music, Clytee Clyne (1925-2018) was an American composer and pianist who wrote numerous works for various instrumental and vocal ensembles.
The name Clytee has also been used in literature, with Clytee Caldwell being a character in the novel "Delta Wedding" by American author Eudora Welty, published in 1946.
While relatively uncommon, the name Clytee and its variants have endured throughout history, carrying the legacy of its mythological origins and the complex character of Clytemnestra from ancient Greek tragedies.
People
Clytee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Clytee 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
Clytee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Clytee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Clytee 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Clytee a common name?
We classify Clytee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Clytee most popular?
The single biggest year for Clytee was 1926, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Clytee is about 97 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Clytee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Clytee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Clytee 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 Clytee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Clytee 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 Clytee 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Clytee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.