Clifford
The story
Clifford means exactly what it says: a ford near a cliff, an English place name that became a surname and then, in nineteenth-century America, a respectable first name of the Clarence and Chester school. It carried that respectability at a steady, comfortable level through the first half of the twentieth century, holding its best numbers from the 1910s through the 1950s. Then, in 1963, Norman Bridwell drew an enormous red dog, named him Clifford, and the name's fortunes turned odd: the dog became one of the most beloved characters in children's publishing just as the human name began its slow slide, and the two facts have coexisted ever since. Whether a generation hesitated to share a name with a giant puppy, no one can say. Clifford now rests in quiet use, with a ready nickname in Cliff and vintage credentials that grow more interesting every year.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clifford peaked in the 1910s and the 1950s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
63 people · the #56,841 first name in Brazil · median age 41
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Clifford
Most people given the name Clifford in the United States were born between 1950 and 1989. The Clifford you meet today is most often in his 50s or 60s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Clifford deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Clifford 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 Clifford fits with your family’s names and surname.
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