Boys' name · peaked in 1913
Clifton name popularity since 1925
57,516 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Clifton. Half of them were born in 1959 or earlier, so the typical Clifton is about 67 years old in 2026. Clifton peaked in 1913 as the #149 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 57,516
- Named Clifton, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1913
- #149 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,907 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.5% boys
- 314 girls · 57,202 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 4.97× its national share
Peak year is the year Clifton made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Clifton births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1975. Measured as a share of all babies, Clifton peaked earlier, in 1913.
- Fastest rise: Between 1970 and 1975, Clifton became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 2,770 baby boys to 1 in 1,290.
- Steepest fall: Between 1989 and 1994, its share of baby boys fell by 45%, from 1 in 3,950 to 1 in 7,240.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Clifton's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Clifton.
Decade by decade
Babies named Clifton in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 33 | 4,256 | – |
| 1930s | 38 | 6,857 | #196 |
| 1940s | 54 | 8,148 | #199 |
| 1950s | 19 | 9,881 | #227 |
| 1960s | 47 | 7,617 | #287 |
| 1970s | 84 | 7,805 | #186 |
| 1980s | 39 | 6,391 | #317 |
| 1990s | 0 | 2,941 | #664 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,647 | #1,063 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,096 | #1,476 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 563 | #1,907 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
31.0% of babies named Clifton from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Clifton is most popular
The index compares Clifton's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Clifton.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 4.97× | 3,227 |
| Louisiana | 3.37× | 3,242 |
| North Carolina | 3.19× | 4,844 |
| District of Columbia | 3.11× | 769 |
| Arkansas | 3.08× | 1,696 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Clifton and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Clifton (this page) | 57,202 | 1913 |
| Cliffton | 1,807 | 1977 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Clifton's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Clifton.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Clifton (1913).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data