Clayton
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Meaning
place name, "settlement on clay land"
The story
Clayton begins close to the ground. Its route runs through an English surname to several place names meaning "clay settlement" in Old English. The same plain description could identify more than one place: a community, and the sort of land beneath it. As a person's name, Clayton carries that old description into a setting where nobody needs it to find the village. The route takes another turn in Brazil. Cleiton is the Brazilian Portuguese form of Clayton. Put the two beside each other and you can see a name reshaped across languages, with the clay of the English spelling becoming less immediately visible. A name that began by locating people can keep traveling after its original directions have stopped being useful.
How popular is Clayton around the world?
In the United States, 6,907 babies were named Clayton between 2020 and 2025.
Clayton is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia, Scotland, Brazil, England and Wales, France and Spain.
United States
1 in 3,200
In the United States, 6,907 babies were named Clayton between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clayton peaked in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 5,100
In Canada, 72 boys named Clayton were born in 2024, the 431st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Clayton in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 9,200
In Scotland, 5 boys named Clayton were registered in 2024, the 535th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Brazil
1 in 11,000
At the 2022 census, 17,791 people in Brazil were named Clayton, ranked 1,148th, with a median age of 38.
Among people named Clayton living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 90 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
England and Wales
1 in 12,000
In England and Wales, 50 boys named Clayton were born in 2025, the 702nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 boys named Clayton were born in 2025, ranked 1,658th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 1.3M
In Spain, 34 residents are named Clayton, ranked 19,705th among men, with a mean age of 41.1 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2018
Clayton is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Ireland
last on record 2024
Clayton is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
last on record 2013
Clayton is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 2001
Clayton is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 2018
Clayton is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
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.
Keep exploring
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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