NamelingSwipe names

Clifford

Gender
Boy
UK rank, 2025
#3,747 for boys
US rank, 2025
#1,352 for boys
Style
Vintage revival

Clifford is a boys' name, meaning “cliff”. In 2025 it ranked 3,747th for boys in the UK (5 babies) and 1,352nd for boys in the US (139 babies).

What does Clifford mean?

“cliff”

A male given name transferred from the surname.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Is Clifford a girl's or a boy's name?

Clifford is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 boys in the UK and 139 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Clifford in the UK?

Rank in 2025
3,747th among boys
Babies in 2025
5 about 1 in 60,000 boys
Five-year trend
Rising up 40% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 5 boys in the UK were named Clifford, making it the 3,747th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,025th. Its busiest year was 1996, with 14 boys.

Half of all the boys named Clifford in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

Among boys in 2025, it was 3,656th in England and Wales.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1904 (#43), 1914 (#45), 1924 (#48), 1934 (#60), 1944 (#68) and 1954 (#81).

1996Busiest: 14 in 19962025
Clifford in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
20255#3,747
20244#4,346
20235#3,712
20223#5,017
20213#4,989
20204#4,025
20196#3,184
20180–
20178#2,656
20168#2,690
20154#4,086
20140–
20134#4,008
20124#4,147
20113#4,837
20104#4,026
20090–
20086#2,906
20076#2,873
200610#1,845
20059#1,957
20045#2,691
20036#2,283
20023#3,325
20019#1,547
20006#1,977
19998#1,582
199812#1,180
199714#1,066
199614#1,021

How popular is Clifford in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,352nd among boys
Babies in 2025
139 about 1 in 12,000 boys
Five-year trend
Steady down 5% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 139 boys in the US were named Clifford, making it the 1,352nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,343rd. Its busiest year was 1925, with 3,424 boys.

Half of all the boys named Clifford in the US since 1880 were born between 1925 and 1960, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 3,424 in 19252025
Clifford in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025139#1,352
2024143#1,341
2023125#1,449
2022152#1,269
2021150#1,267
2020133#1,343
2019153#1,234
2018144#1,276
2017160#1,170
2016138#1,310
2015147#1,239
2014119#1,414
2013138#1,261
2012138#1,273
2011135#1,271
2010143#1,232
2009144#1,241
2008163#1,119
2007181#1,038
2006168#1,067
2005190#925
2004215#826
2003175#935
2002197#841
2001238#729
2000224#752
1999293#619
1998267#654
1997323#573
1996356#538
1995357#534
1994402#506
1993475#455
1992538#416
1991584#388
1990700#346
1989774#309
1988764#298
1987754#286
1986866#257
1985894#252
1984997#225
1983974#228
19821,141#212
19811,178#210
19801,214#202
19791,045#220
19781,001#217
1977972#224
19761,065#205
19751,123#199
19741,149#193
19731,174#193
19721,268#186
19711,382#185
19701,582#176
19691,505#184
19681,608#167
19671,513#174
19661,612#169
19651,821#163
19642,019#161
19632,198#150
19622,184#150
19612,340#149
19602,464#141
19592,536#139
19582,812#128
19572,893#130
19562,911#122
19552,995#118
19543,141#112
19533,157#102
19523,317#99
19513,160#101
19502,940#100
19492,898#103
19482,793#105
19472,990#101
19462,616#100
19452,384#99
19442,394#99
19432,667#94
19422,533#95
19412,363#94
19402,185#94
19392,290#88
19382,277#89
19372,229#90
19362,132#90
19352,265#88
19342,315#85
19332,158#86
19322,286#84
19312,452#75
19302,696#73
19292,669#72
19282,862#68
19273,031#65
19263,190#62
19253,424#59
19243,250#64
19233,106#65
19223,157#63
19213,262#62
19203,291#59
19193,040#60
19183,299#60
19172,969#59
19162,767#61
19152,741#61
19141,960#62
19131,520#68
19121,345#62
1911694#62
1910551#66
1909536#57
1908515#58
1907445#65
1906413#63
1905420#61
1904361#66
1903348#61
1902326#71
1901282#69
1900409#66
1899297#62
1898317#67
1897285#68
1896311#66
1895272#72
1894307#65
1893269#71
1892240#80
1891196#81
1890207#83
1889202#87
1888194#92
1887165#91
1886172#95
1885139#104
1884150#102
1883138#100
1882155#94
1881110#112
1880127#107

Names like Clifford

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Alfred, Charles, Edward, Thomas, Wilfred, William, Joseph, Arthur, Robert, Frederick, Harry, Albert

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Clifford: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/clifford, updated 20 October 2026.