Baby Names US
boys' name ★ peaked 1920

Claude

Meaning A male given name from Latin Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #3,044 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

A male given name from Latin.

Rank 2025
#3,044
among boys · ↑301 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
40
named Claude · +14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 42,702
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1920
1,910 babies
All-time total
92,289
#333 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Claude popularity over time

92,289 babies have been named Claude since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 71 3,504 3,575 358 – #46
1890s 94 3,636 3,730 373 +4% #52
1900s 59 3,704 3,763 376 +1% #58
1910s 116 12,792 12,908 1,291 +243% #78
1920s 191 16,999 17,190 1,719 +33% #92
1930s 124 12,741 12,865 1,287 -25% #122
1940s 66 12,820 12,886 1,289 0% #145
1950s 86 10,831 10,917 1,092 -15% #177
1960s 71 6,436 6,507 651 -40% #277
1970s 57 3,244 3,301 330 -49% #383
1980s 12 2,034 2,046 205 -38% #524
1990s 5 1,195 1,200 120 -41% #836
2000s – 699 699 70 -42% #1,302
2010s – 472 472 47 -32% #2,332
2020s (to 2025) – 230 230 38 -19% #2,768

Where Claude is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 39 0.02 outside top 500
2027 38 0.02 outside top 500
2028 38 0.02 outside top 500
2029 37 0.02 outside top 500
2030 37 0.02 outside top 500

The story of Claude

Claude is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #3,044 in 2025 with 40 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 92,289 American babies have been named Claude. Its peak came in 1920, when 1,910 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Claude stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Claude?

The median living Claude is about 68 years old; half are between 55 and 77. An estimated 30 thousand people named Claude are alive in the United States today.

median 68 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Claude year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 40 #3,044
2024 – – 35 #3,345
2023 – – 39 #3,129
2022 – – 34 #3,424
2021 – – 38 #3,134
2020 – – 44 #2,768
2019 – – 42 #2,904
2018 – – 51 #2,515
2017 – – 40 #2,965
2016 – – 55 #2,368
2015 – – 52 #2,433
2014 – – 42 #2,815
2013 – – 43 #2,722
2012 – – 45 #2,685
2011 – – 47 #2,595
2010 – – 55 #2,332
2009 – – 58 #2,258
2008 – – 66 #2,093
2007 – – 58 #2,263
2006 – – 62 #2,109
2005 – – 70 #1,842
2004 – – 65 #1,885
2003 – – 82 #1,551
2002 – – 70 #1,684
2001 – – 69 #1,679
2000 – – 99 #1,302
1995 – – 113 #1,055
1990 – – 151 #836
1985 – – 189 #639
1980 5 #10,703 268 #524
1975 6 #8,180 316 #449
1970 6 #7,213 447 #383
1965 – – 603 #308
1960 13 #3,536 837 #277
1955 8 #4,438 1,084 #218
1950 9 #3,716 1,253 #177
1945 – – 1,166 #159
1940 8 #3,264 1,194 #145
1935 12 #2,456 1,264 #129
1930 15 #2,213 1,481 #122
1925 16 #2,301 1,696 #102
1920 17 #2,185 1,893 #92
1915 13 #2,277 1,605 #96
1910 9 #1,654 463 #78
1905 – – 399 #63
1900 12 #1,118 433 #59
1895 13 #899 389 #55
1890 12 #795 347 #57
1885 7 #857 343 #52
1880 10 #553 309 #56

Famous people named Claude

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Claude Monet Claude Monet French painter (1840–1926) 19th century
  2. 2 Claude Shannon Claude Shannon American mathematician (1916–2001) Contemporary
  3. 3 Claude Debussy Claude Debussy French classical composer (1862–1918) 19th century
  4. 4 Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss French anthropologist and ethnologist (1908–2009) Contemporary
  5. 5 Claude François Claude François French singer, songwriter and dancer (1939–1978) Contemporary
  6. 6 Claude of France Claude of France Queen of France (1515–1524) and Duchess of Brittany (1514–1524) 1499–1524 · Medieval
  7. 7 Claude Lanzmann Claude Lanzmann French documentary filmmaker (1925–2018) Contemporary
  8. 8 Claude Lelouch Claude Lelouch French filmmaker and writer (born 1937) Contemporary
  9. 9 Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain French painter, draughtsman and etcher (d. 1682) 1600–1682 · 16th century
  10. 10 Claude, Duke of Guise Nobleman, France 1496–1550 · Medieval
  11. 11 Claude of France Claude of France Duchess of Lorraine from 1559 to 1575 1547–1575 · 16th century
  12. 12 Claude Jade Actor, France 1948–2006 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Claude Bernard Claude Bernard French physiologist (1813–1878) 19th century
  14. 14 Claude Berri Claude Berri French filmmaker (1934–2009) Contemporary
  15. 15 Claude Cohen-Tannoudji Claude Cohen-Tannoudji French physicist (born 1933) Contemporary
  16. 16 Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle French writer and composer (1760–1836) 18th century
  17. 17 Claude Simon Claude Simon French novelist (1913–2005) Contemporary
  18. 18 Claude Adrien Helvétius Claude Adrien Helvétius French philosopher (1715–1771) 18th century
  19. 19 Claude Garamond Designer, France 1499–1561 · Medieval
  20. 20 Claude Nicolas Ledoux Claude Nicolas Ledoux French Neoclassical architect 1736–1806 · 18th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Claude, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Claude?

The median living Claude is about 68 years old. Half of all living Claudes are between 55 and 77 years old.

How many people named Claude are alive today?

An estimated 30 thousand people named Claude are alive in the United States, based on 92,289 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Claude mean?

A male given name from Latin.

How popular is the name Claude in 2025?

Claude ranked #3,044 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 40 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Claude?

92,289 babies have been named Claude in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Claude most popular?

Claude peaked in 1920, when 1,910 newborns received the name.

Is Claude a boy or girl name?

Claude is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Claude rising or falling?

Claude has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Claude become more popular?

Claude is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 37 boys named Claude in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Claude?

Well-known people named Claude include Claude Monet (painter), Claude Shannon (mathematician), Claude Debussy (composer).

Names like Claude

Names that sound and feel close to Claude: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Claude with similar names → More names starting with C →