boys' name ★ peaked 1920

Clyde

Meaning Clyde is a given name Gender Boy · 3% girls Rank 2025 #743 Trend ↑ Rising 15%

Clyde is a given name. It may refer to:

Rank 2025
#743
among boys · ↓15 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
350
named Clyde · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,880
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1920
3,164 babies
All-time total
148,926
#237 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Clyde popularity over time

148,926 babies have been named Clyde 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 233 3,034 3,267 327 – #50
1890s 465 3,625 4,090 409 +25% #55
1900s 569 4,524 5,093 509 +25% #51
1910s 940 19,864 20,804 2,080 +308% #57
1920s 834 28,957 29,791 2,979 +43% #67
1930s 404 22,452 22,856 2,286 -23% #76
1940s 254 20,710 20,964 2,096 -8% #102
1950s 139 17,906 18,045 1,805 -14% #132
1960s 65 9,071 9,136 914 -49% #206
1970s 29 4,381 4,410 441 -52% #315
1980s – 2,812 2,812 281 -36% #420
1990s – 1,686 1,686 169 -40% #641
2000s – 1,304 1,304 130 -23% #1,016
2010s – 2,493 2,493 249 +91% #704
2020s (to 2025) – 2,175 2,175 363 +45% #684

Where Clyde 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 358 0.21 outside top 500
2027 366 0.21 outside top 500
2028 372 0.22 outside top 500
2029 378 0.22 outside top 500
2030 382 0.22 outside top 500

Where Clyde is most popular

Boys named Clyde per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.212 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, South Dakota, and Utah.

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 Clyde 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
Montana 12 0.680 +222%
South Dakota 10 0.537 +154%
Utah 51 0.534 +153%
Missouri 67 0.483 +129%
Oregon 33 0.435 +106%
Minnesota 52 0.424 +100%
Alaska 5 0.420 +98%
Wisconsin 49 0.414 +96%
Kansas 27 0.394 +86%
Oklahoma 34 0.384 +82%
Washington 56 0.342 +62%
Iowa 23 0.334 +58%
Colorado 43 0.333 +57%
Tennessee 57 0.316 +49%
Idaho 12 0.293 +39%
Alabama 31 0.284 +34%
Virginia 52 0.274 +30%
Michigan 55 0.269 +27%
Kentucky 24 0.239 +13%
North Carolina 61 0.239 +13%
Pennsylvania 63 0.237 +12%
Indiana 37 0.231 +9%
Nebraska 10 0.230 +9%
Illinois 56 0.219 ≈ national
Texas 178 0.202 ≈ national
Ohio 51 0.192 -9%
California 168 0.184 -13%
South Carolina 18 0.174 -18%
Georgia 41 0.162 -23%
New York 67 0.155 -27%
Florida 70 0.148 -30%
Louisiana 15 0.147 -31%
Arizona 22 0.134 -36%
Mississippi 5 0.088 -58%
Arkansas 5 0.079 -63%
Maryland 9 0.075 -64%
New Jersey 12 0.060 -72%
Massachusetts 6 0.044 -79%
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Clyde

Clyde is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #743 in 2025 with 350 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 148,926 American babies have been named Clyde. Its peak came in 1920, when 3,164 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 Clyde stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Clyde?

The median living Clyde is about 68 years old; half are between 52 and 77. An estimated 50 thousand people named Clyde 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.

Clyde 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 – – 350 #743
2024 – – 362 #728
2023 – – 368 #721
2022 – – 395 #684
2021 – – 352 #731
2020 – – 348 #715
2019 – – 299 #779
2018 – – 328 #729
2017 – – 350 #704
2016 – – 298 #795
2015 – – 288 #803
2014 – – 285 #806
2013 – – 196 #1,001
2012 – – 158 #1,155
2011 – – 154 #1,160
2010 – – 137 #1,268
2009 – – 140 #1,257
2008 – – 143 #1,224
2007 – – 141 #1,249
2006 – – 129 #1,291
2005 – – 125 #1,258
2004 – – 137 #1,147
2003 – – 116 #1,249
2002 – – 112 #1,225
2001 – – 117 #1,172
2000 – – 144 #1,016
1995 – – 168 #827
1990 – – 250 #641
1985 – – 277 #524
1980 – – 386 #420
1975 – – 399 #391
1970 6 #7,219 621 #315
1965 8 #4,904 770 #269
1960 13 #3,537 1,372 #206
1955 15 #3,001 1,741 #164
1950 16 #2,567 1,985 #136
1945 29 #1,520 1,858 #121
1940 23 #1,643 2,014 #102
1935 32 #1,273 2,355 #82
1930 66 #890 2,631 #76
1925 88 #788 2,906 #68
1920 95 #741 3,069 #68
1915 117 #605 2,518 #63
1910 55 #552 617 #57
1905 57 #448 474 #52
1900 65 #419 451 #56
1895 49 #403 370 #59
1890 47 #366 317 #64
1885 25 #415 318 #57
1880 13 #473 221 #72

Famous people named Clyde

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

  1. 1 Clyde Drexler Clyde Drexler American basketball player (born 1962) Contemporary
  2. 2 Clyde Tolson Clyde Tolson American law enforcement officer (1900–1975) Contemporary
  3. 3 Clyde Tombaugh Clyde Tombaugh American astronomer (1906–1997) Contemporary
  4. 4 Clyde McPhatter Clyde McPhatter American singer (1932–1972) Contemporary
  5. 5 Clyde Lovellette Clyde Lovellette American basketball player (1929–2016) Contemporary
  6. 6 Clyde Cessna Clyde Cessna American aircraft designer (1879–1954) 19th century
  7. 7 Clyde Cowan Clyde Cowan American physicist (1919–1974) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Clyde?

The median living Clyde is about 68 years old. Half of all living Clydes are between 52 and 77 years old.

How many people named Clyde are alive today?

An estimated 50 thousand people named Clyde are alive in the United States, based on 148,926 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Clyde mean?

Clyde is a given name. It may refer to:

How popular is the name Clyde in 2025?

Clyde ranked #743 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 350 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Clyde?

148,926 babies have been named Clyde in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Clyde most popular?

Clyde peaked in 1920, when 3,164 newborns received the name.

Is Clyde a boy or girl name?

Clyde is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 97% of babies with the name.

Is the name Clyde rising or falling?

Clyde is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Clyde become more popular?

Clyde is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 382 boys named Clyde 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 Clyde?

Well-known people named Clyde include Clyde Drexler (basketball player), Clyde Tolson (politician), Clyde Tombaugh (astronomer).

Names like Clyde

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

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