Clay
Clay is ranked 543rd among boys in 2024 (545 births). Its best rank was 259th, in 1961.
- Rank in 2024
- #543up 38 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 5450.03% of boys
- Peak year
- 1960904 births
- Best rank
- #259in 1961
- Since 1880
- 39,736people given the name
The story in the numbers
39,736 boys have been named Clay in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1960, with 904 births.
This is a comeback. After an early peak the name fell to a fraction of its former share, and it has been climbing again for the past decade.
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1979, and the 1990s alone account for 15%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named Clay | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 245 | |
| 1890s | 292 | |
| 1900s | 323 | |
| 1910s | 1,015 | |
| 1920s | 1,453 | |
| 1930s | 1,188 | |
| 1940s | 1,295 | |
| 1950s | 4,336 | |
| 1960s | 5,718 | |
| 1970s | 4,333 | |
| 1980s | 4,016 | |
| 1990s | 5,806 | |
| 2000s | 4,096 | |
| 2010s | 3,264 | |
| 2020s | 2,356 |
In 1960, its biggest year
Clay was the 264th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1960 were David, Michael, James, John and Robert. See all of 1960.
Names that rose and fell with Clay
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Wadepeak 1970
- Andypeak 2005
- Claytonpeak 2000
- Wesleypeak 2024
- Victorpeak 1990
- Rubenpeak 1992
- Tomaspeak 2003
- Blainepeak 2001
Other spellings in the data
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.