Clay Aiken
There are approximately 1 people named Clay Aiken living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Clay with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Aiken. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Clay
32K
Alive today
Named Aiken
14K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 32K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1960
Average age: 40
Top Census group: White (87.5%)
Estimated bearers: 14K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #2,976
Per 100K: 3.95
Top ancestry: White (63.3%)
First name trend
Clay: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Clay. The peak year was 1960 with 911 births. The average person named Clay today is 40 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clay
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Clay, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 87.5%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Clay described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Clay at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White87.5% · 27,133
- Black or African American4.4% · 1,370
- Two or more races3.4% · 1,050
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 870
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 306
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 290
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Aiken surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Aiken, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 63.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Aiken described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Aiken at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White63.3% · 7,487
- Black or African American27.7% · 3,275
- Two or more races4.2% · 492
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 336
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 122
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 109
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Clay has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0095% of the US population, based on 32,439 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Clay right now.
The surname Aiken appears at a rate of 3.95 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0040%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Clay Aiken. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Clay
Related
Other people with the surname Aiken
FAQ
Clay Aiken: questions and answers
How many people are named Clay Aiken?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Clay Aiken. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0095%) with the surname frequency (3.95 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Clay Aiken?
We classify Clay Aiken as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Clay a male or female name?
Clay is predominantly male. Out of 40,009 total SSA registrations, 99.3% were male and 0.7% were female. See the full Clay profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people share the full name Clay Aiken?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.