boys' name ★ peaked 2000

Clayton

Meaning clay Gender Boy Rank 2025 #300 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

From Middle English Claytone, Cleyton, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”) + Old English tūn (“enclosure, settlement; town”).

Rank 2025
#300
among boys · ↑18 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,130
named Clayton · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,512
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2000
2,577 babies
All-time total
139,954
#244 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Clayton popularity over time

139,954 babies have been named Clayton 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
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 653 653 65 – #173
1890s – 752 752 75 +15% #161
1900s – 1,057 1,057 106 +41% #170
1910s 42 5,641 5,683 568 +438% #149
1920s 84 9,414 9,498 950 +67% #153
1930s 54 7,171 7,225 723 -24% #168
1940s 21 7,059 7,080 708 -2% #205
1950s 36 9,309 9,345 935 +32% #228
1960s 38 9,296 9,334 933 0% #222
1970s 59 10,750 10,809 1,081 +16% #187
1980s 108 16,933 17,041 1,704 +58% #147
1990s 48 21,816 21,864 2,186 +28% #147
2000s 63 18,672 18,735 1,874 -14% #151
2010s 39 13,932 13,971 1,397 -25% #248
2020s (to 2025) 18 6,889 6,907 1,151 -18% #279

Where Clayton 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 1,104 0.65 #308
2027 1,081 0.63 #315
2028 1,063 0.62 #324
2029 1,048 0.61 #325
2030 1,035 0.61 #328

Where Clayton is most popular

Boys named Clayton per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.662 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Maine, and Idaho.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Clayton born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 79 2.42 +266%
Maine 40 2.06 +211%
Idaho 84 2.05 +210%
South Dakota 36 1.93 +192%
Montana 33 1.87 +183%
Kentucky 165 1.64 +148%
North Dakota 28 1.64 +148%
Mississippi 86 1.51 +129%
New Hampshire 31 1.40 +111%
Iowa 89 1.29 +95%
Wisconsin 152 1.28 +94%
Oregon 95 1.25 +89%
Alabama 135 1.23 +87%
Nebraska 53 1.22 +84%
South Carolina 124 1.20 +81%
Oklahoma 103 1.16 +76%
Tennessee 209 1.16 +75%
Kansas 79 1.15 +74%
Arkansas 72 1.14 +72%
Minnesota 139 1.13 +71%
Michigan 232 1.13 +71%
Missouri 148 1.07 +61%
Ohio 274 1.03 +56%
Pennsylvania 262 0.987 +49%
Indiana 151 0.942 +42%
Georgia 222 0.876 +32%
Wyoming 5 0.864 +31%
Washington 139 0.850 +28%
Vermont 5 0.796 +20%
Louisiana 80 0.782 +18%
North Carolina 198 0.775 +17%
Virginia 146 0.769 +16%
Colorado 96 0.744 +12%
Utah 66 0.691 ≈ national
Florida 286 0.604 -9%
Arizona 91 0.556 -16%
Illinois 138 0.540 -18%
Maryland 60 0.503 -24%
New York 201 0.464 -30%
Texas 406 0.461 -30%
California 416 0.455 -31%
Nevada 25 0.439 -34%
Alaska 5 0.420 -37%
Massachusetts 57 0.415 -37%
Connecticut 24 0.355 -46%
New Mexico 11 0.334 -50%
New Jersey 51 0.253 -62%
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Rhode Island – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Clayton

Clayton is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #300 in 2025 with 1,130 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 139,954 American babies have been named Clayton. Its peak came in 2000, when 2,577 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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 Clayton stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Clayton?

The median living Clayton is about 32 years old; half are between 19 and 48. An estimated 106 thousand people named Clayton are alive in the United States today.

median 32 020406080100

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

Clayton 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 – – 1,130 #300
2024 – – 1,083 #318
2023 8 #11,411 1,067 #310
2022 – – 1,200 #286
2021 5 #15,759 1,237 #279
2020 5 #15,638 1,172 #289
2019 8 #11,596 1,308 #273
2018 – – 1,451 #254
2017 5 #16,412 1,493 #250
2016 6 #14,729 1,376 #266
2015 – – 1,479 #248
2014 – – 1,365 #271
2013 – – 1,387 #258
2012 8 #12,468 1,367 #261
2011 7 #13,678 1,345 #257
2010 5 #17,601 1,361 #251
2009 7 #14,022 1,264 #272
2008 8 #12,853 1,577 #234
2007 – – 1,446 #247
2006 5 #17,723 1,595 #226
2005 – – 1,662 #216
2004 14 #7,926 1,923 #198
2003 6 #14,252 2,130 #183
2002 – – 2,160 #178
2001 10 #9,530 2,351 #162
2000 13 #7,674 2,564 #151
1995 5 #13,879 2,361 #151
1990 8 #9,439 2,029 #153
1985 7 #8,522 1,718 #157
1980 7 #8,327 1,275 #194
1975 7 #7,297 1,177 #193
1970 5 #8,213 834 #264
1965 – – 882 #251
1960 – – 1,245 #222
1955 – – 925 #234
1950 – – 754 #241
1945 – – 638 #218
1940 – – 603 #212
1935 7 #3,467 700 #187
1930 13 #2,443 802 #178
1925 6 #4,531 932 #162
1920 11 #2,939 961 #153
1915 – – 699 #165
1910 5 #2,480 159 #178
1905 – – 110 #174
1900 – – 118 #176
1895 – – 86 #183
1890 – – 77 #176
1885 – – 68 #192
1880 – – 60 #201

Famous people named Clayton

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

  1. 1 Clayton Kershaw Clayton Kershaw American baseball player (born 1988) Contemporary
  2. 2 Clayton Moore Clayton Moore American actor (1914–1999) Contemporary
  3. 3 Clayton Blackmore Clayton Blackmore Welsh footballer and manager b. 1964 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Clayton Anderson Clayton Anderson Retired NASA astronaut and member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew b. 1959 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Clayton Ince Clayton Ince Trinidad and Tobago footballer (born 1972) Contemporary
  6. 6 Clayton Murphy Clayton Murphy American middle-distance runner b. 1995 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Clayton Zane Clayton Zane Australian soccer player and coach b. 1977 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Clayton?

The median living Clayton is about 32 years old. Half of all living Claytons are between 19 and 48 years old.

How many people named Clayton are alive today?

An estimated 106 thousand people named Clayton are alive in the United States, based on 139,954 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Clayton mean?

From Middle English Claytone, Cleyton, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”) + Old English tūn (“enclosure, settlement; town”).

How popular is the name Clayton in 2025?

Clayton ranked #300 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,130 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Clayton?

139,954 babies have been named Clayton in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Clayton most popular?

Clayton peaked in 2000, when 2,577 newborns received the name.

Is Clayton a boy or girl name?

Clayton is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Clayton rising or falling?

Clayton is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Clayton become more popular?

Clayton is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,035 boys named Clayton in 2030, which would rank around #328. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Clayton?

Well-known people named Clayton include Clayton Kershaw (celebrity), Clayton Moore (actor), Clayton Blackmore (soccer player).

Names like Clayton

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

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