Clayton
Meaning
place name, "settlement on clay land"
The story
Clayton is English earth in name form: a place name meaning settlement on clay land, worn by villages across England and carried to America as a surname before parents began handing it to sons directly, part of the long fashion for dignified surname names like Preston and Grant. For a hundred years it kept a modest, dependable level in the records, never trendy and never gone, the kind of name a family passes down without fuss. Then, quietly, it began to climb: the 1990s and 2000s warmed, and the 2010s became the strongest decade Clayton has ever had, with the 2020s holding most of that gain. The nickname Clay, easy and outdoorsy, may deserve some credit for the fresh appeal, though no one can say for certain. Old land, new life: some names just need a century to warm up.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clayton peaked in the 2010s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
17,791 people · the #1,148 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 11,364 · median age 38
Among people named Clayton living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 90 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Clayton
Most people given the name Clayton in the United States were born between 1970 and 2009. The Clayton you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Clayton deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Clayton truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Clayton fits with your family’s names and surname.
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