Meaning not yet researched.
Clay: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 515 in 2025. Its best rank was #259 in 1961.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #259 in 1961; #573 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Clay in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#573 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1961, at #259.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Clay: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 515 boys in 2025. Peak: #259 in 1961 · most boys in one year: 904 (1960).
In 2025, 515 US boys were named Clay, making it the 573rd most common boys’ name of the year, down 29 places from #544 in 2024. That is 30 fewer than the 545 boys named Clay in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #259, reached in 1961. The most boys given the name in a single year was 904, in 1960. For comparison, it was #720 in 2015 and #497 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Clay in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 18 babies with the name. In all, 40,525 US babies have been given the name, 0.7% of them girls and 99% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1990s, with 5,813 babies named Clay.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 4,298 US boys were named Clay; the busiest of those years was 2024, with 545. In 2025 that was about 1 in 3,317 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Clay ranked highest in Iowa in 2025, at #146 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Klay (1,616 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Kla, Klah and Clae are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Rare spellings summarised here: Kla (245), Klah (6), Clae (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Clay in the open dataset we use.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 19 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 29 | #146 | #337 |
| Missouri | 30 | #240 | #467 |
| Indiana | 28 | #284 | #426 |
| Kentucky | 19 | #285 | #236 |
| West Virginia | 6 | #309 | #338 |
| Utah | 14 | #331 | #697 |
| Arkansas | 10 | #334 | #562 |
| Idaho | 7 | #338 | — |
| Washington | 22 | #342 | #774 |
| Nebraska | 7 | #343 | — |
| Wisconsin | 15 | #360 | #520 |
| Michigan | 20 | #426 | #538 |
| Oklahoma | 10 | #430 | — |
| Kansas | 8 | #435 | #474 |
| Tennessee | 18 | #436 | #429 |
| Virginia | 15 | #501 | #550 |
| North Carolina | 19 | #517 | #844 |
| Pennsylvania | 18 | #530 | #564 |
| Alabama | 9 | #533 | — |
| Arizona | 13 | #535 | #801 |
| Louisiana | 7 | #603 | #837 |
| Oregon | 5 | #631 | #465 |
| Maryland | 7 | #641 | — |
| Illinois | 14 | #645 | #910 |
| Minnesota | 7 | #659 | #546 |
| Colorado | 7 | #697 | #706 |
| Ohio | 12 | #721 | #538 |
| California | 36 | #734 | #1,023 |
| Texas | 36 | #754 | #820 |
| Florida | 15 | #917 | #750 |
| Georgia | 6 | #1,235 | #739 |
| New York | 8 | #1,325 | #1,890 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — | 515 | #573 |
| 2024 | 5 | #15,788 | 545 | #544 |
| 2023 | — | — | 494 | #581 |
| 2022 | — | — | 453 | #618 |
| 2021 | — | — | 451 | #617 |
| 2020 | 5 | #15,637 | 417 | #644 |
| 2019 | — | — | 376 | #682 |
| 2018 | — | — | 353 | #688 |
| 2017 | — | — | 355 | #694 |
| 2016 | — | — | 339 | #724 |
| 2015 | — | — | 342 | #720 |
| 2014 | — | — | 269 | #841 |
| 2013 | — | — | 321 | #729 |
| 2012 | — | — | 322 | #726 |
| 2011 | — | — | 316 | #720 |
| 2010 | — | — | 273 | #794 |
| 2009 | — | — | 213 | #948 |
| 2008 | — | — | 250 | #853 |
| 2007 | — | — | 281 | #775 |
| 2006 | — | — | 309 | #707 |
| 2005 | — | — | 330 | #654 |
| 2004 | 5 | #16,674 | 383 | #582 |
| 2003 | — | — | 519 | #479 |
| 2002 | — | — | 597 | #417 |
| 2001 | — | — | 573 | #427 |
| 2000 | — | — | 641 | #396 |
| 1999 | — | — | 603 | #403 |
| 1998 | 7 | #11,382 | 623 | #393 |
| 1997 | — | — | 643 | #379 |
| 1996 | — | — | 648 | #369 |
| 1995 | — | — | 714 | #344 |
| 1994 | — | — | 689 | #353 |
| 1993 | — | — | 494 | #444 |
| 1992 | — | — | 433 | #484 |
| 1991 | — | — | 465 | #459 |
| 1990 | — | — | 494 | #445 |
| 1989 | — | — | 451 | #444 |
| 1988 | — | — | 488 | #406 |
| 1987 | — | — | 467 | #402 |
| 1986 | — | — | 412 | #423 |
| 1985 | — | — | 416 | #418 |
| 1984 | — | — | 380 | #425 |
| 1983 | — | — | 373 | #424 |
| 1982 | — | — | 345 | #458 |
| 1981 | — | — | 333 | #455 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,315 | 350 | #443 |
| 1979 | — | — | 345 | #431 |
| 1978 | 9 | #6,493 | 369 | #401 |
| 1977 | — | — | 421 | #382 |
| 1976 | — | — | 434 | #367 |
| 1975 | — | — | 454 | #365 |
| 1974 | — | — | 422 | #373 |
| 1973 | 5 | #8,664 | 470 | #354 |
| 1972 | — | — | 439 | #374 |
| 1971 | — | — | 520 | #352 |
| 1970 | 5 | #8,212 | 456 | #379 |
| 1969 | — | — | 431 | #378 |
| 1968 | — | — | 389 | #394 |
| 1967 | — | — | 361 | #403 |
| 1966 | 5 | #6,744 | 360 | #395 |
| 1965 | — | — | 440 | #369 |
| 1964 | — | — | 571 | #328 |
| 1963 | — | — | 656 | #303 |
| 1962 | — | — | 705 | #288 |
| 1961 | — | — | 900 | #259 |
| 1960 | 7 | #5,260 | 904 | #265 |
| 1959 | — | — | 826 | #276 |
| 1958 | 7 | #4,984 | 723 | #284 |
| 1957 | 11 | #3,731 | 594 | #313 |
| 1956 | — | — | 485 | #339 |
| 1955 | 5 | #5,980 | 426 | #350 |
| 1954 | 8 | #4,343 | 340 | #388 |
| 1953 | — | — | 270 | #431 |
| 1952 | 7 | #4,570 | 267 | #426 |
| 1951 | — | — | 225 | #450 |
| 1950 | 7 | #4,386 | 180 | #497 |
| 1949 | — | — | 176 | #502 |
| 1948 | — | — | 171 | #505 |
| 1947 | — | — | 145 | #561 |
| 1946 | — | — | 114 | #606 |
| 1945 | — | — | 97 | #612 |
| 1944 | 6 | #4,145 | 110 | #585 |
| 1943 | 11 | #2,888 | 125 | #568 |
| 1942 | 14 | #2,438 | 123 | #554 |
| 1941 | 6 | #4,040 | 106 | #576 |
| 1940 | — | — | 128 | #510 |
| 1939 | 8 | #3,188 | 122 | #514 |
| 1938 | 11 | #2,611 | 113 | #546 |
| 1937 | 6 | #3,876 | 117 | #537 |
| 1936 | 7 | #3,429 | 124 | #509 |
| 1935 | — | — | 110 | #548 |
| 1934 | — | — | 117 | #545 |
| 1933 | 9 | #2,916 | 114 | #534 |
| 1932 | — | — | 123 | #524 |
| 1931 | — | — | 117 | #540 |
| 1930 | 7 | #3,721 | 131 | #524 |
| 1929 | — | — | 107 | #579 |
| 1928 | — | — | 135 | #519 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,332 | 155 | #487 |
| 1926 | 6 | #4,400 | 131 | #528 |
| 1925 | — | — | 144 | #507 |
| 1924 | 6 | #4,555 | 151 | #509 |
| 1923 | 12 | #2,760 | 134 | #525 |
| 1922 | 5 | #5,152 | 189 | #442 |
| 1921 | 7 | #4,098 | 160 | #489 |
| 1920 | 10 | #3,150 | 147 | #498 |
| 1919 | — | — | 128 | #527 |
| 1918 | — | — | 146 | #495 |
| 1917 | 6 | #4,191 | 125 | #515 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,541 | 133 | #494 |
| 1915 | 7 | #3,499 | 132 | #485 |
| 1914 | — | — | 107 | #466 |
| 1913 | — | — | 89 | #461 |
| 1912 | 5 | #3,053 | 75 | #456 |
| 1911 | — | — | 52 | #396 |
| 1910 | — | — | 28 | #540 |
| 1909 | — | — | 35 | #421 |
| 1908 | — | — | 33 | #414 |
| 1907 | — | — | 31 | #408 |
| 1906 | — | — | 36 | #346 |
| 1905 | — | — | 34 | #355 |
| 1904 | — | — | 32 | #354 |
| 1903 | — | — | 27 | #370 |
| 1902 | — | — | 33 | #339 |
| 1901 | — | — | 21 | #409 |
| 1900 | — | — | 41 | #337 |
| 1899 | — | — | 23 | #385 |
| 1898 | — | — | 40 | #289 |
| 1897 | — | — | 25 | #375 |
| 1896 | — | — | 30 | #353 |
| 1895 | — | — | 33 | #318 |
| 1894 | — | — | 42 | #271 |
| 1893 | — | — | 33 | #300 |
| 1892 | — | — | 23 | #394 |
| 1891 | 6 | #1,235 | 11 | #571 |
| 1890 | — | — | 32 | #303 |
| 1889 | — | — | 29 | #324 |
| 1888 | — | — | 31 | #324 |
| 1887 | — | — | 23 | #341 |
| 1886 | — | — | 28 | #321 |
| 1885 | — | — | 18 | #425 |
| 1884 | — | — | 32 | #307 |
| 1883 | — | — | 25 | #331 |
| 1882 | — | — | 17 | #438 |
| 1881 | — | — | 24 | #333 |
| 1880 | — | — | 18 | #406 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).