NameTides

Clay

Clay was the #573 boys' name in the US in 2025 (515 babies), and #845 in England & Wales and #943 in Canada.

Clay as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
Clay as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020USScotlandIrelandCanadaEngland & Wales
Clay as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, CanadaBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.00.130.250.380.51880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanada
2025#573 (515)#845 (38)#560 (5)—#577 (5)#943 (27)
2024#544 (545)#602 (63)#535 (5)—#785 (3)#767 (34)
2023#581 (494)#791 (41)———#1,079 (21)
2022#618 (453)#656 (53)#425 (7)——#1,027 (22)
2021#617 (451)#566 (68)#477 (6)—#552 (5)#997 (23)
2020#644 (417)#627 (55)#390 (8)—#637 (4)#967 (23)
2019#682 (376)#597 (62)—#365 (4)#646 (4)#819 (29)
2018#688 (353)#675 (51)#595 (4)—#749 (3)#1,056 (20)
2017#694 (355)#635 (56)#442 (7)#415 (3)—#971 (23)
2016#723 (339)#659 (53)#707 (3)——#1,283 (15)
2015#720 (342)#740 (44)#588 (4)——#1,122 (18)
2014#840 (269)#988 (29)———#1,250 (15)
2013#729 (321)#976 (29)#590 (4)——#1,380 (13)
2012#726 (322)#866 (35)#500 (5)——#1,202 (16)
2011#720 (316)#958 (29)———#1,163 (17)

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 1960 at #265.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • In the US records since the data begins in 1880.

How common is it?

about 1 in 3,300 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet fewer than 1. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 3,300uncommon
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 7,100uncommon
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 3,900uncommon
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 4,700uncommon
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 5,900uncommon

Next year

On its recent trend, Clay is likely to keep rising in the US in 2026: about 1 in 3,000 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 2,800 to 1 in 3,300.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Clay by state, 2025Alaska: fewer than 5 babiesAKMaine: fewer than 5 babiesMEWisconsin: #355WIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #336WAIdaho: #332IDMontana: fewer than 5 babiesMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesNDMinnesota: #640MNIllinois: #632ILMichigan: #420MINew York: #1,297NYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 babiesMAOregon: #604ORNevada: fewer than 5 babiesNVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesSDIowa: #143IAIndiana: #283INOhio: #710OHPennsylvania: #526PANew Jersey: fewer than 5 babiesNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 babiesCTRhode Island: fewer than 5 babiesRICalifornia: #731CAUtah: #327UTColorado: #680CONebraska: #335NEMissouri: #238MOKentucky: #281KYWest Virginia: #299WVVirginia: #497VAMaryland: #634MDDelaware: fewer than 5 babiesDEArizona: #527AZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 babiesNMKansas: #428KSArkansas: #332ARTennessee: #430TNNorth Carolina: #512NCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 babiesSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 babiesDCOklahoma: #426OKLouisiana: #591LAMississippi: fewer than 5 babiesMSAlabama: #525ALGeorgia: #1,216GAHawaii: fewer than 5 babiesHITexas: #749TXFlorida: #912FL
Clay (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#96411

Clay (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
ClayCanadaBoys#94327
ClayEngland & WalesBoys#84538
ClayIrelandBoys#5775
ClayNorthern IrelandBoys—too few
ClayScotlandBoys#5605
ClayUSGirls—too few
ClayUSBoys#573515