Clover
Meaning
the clover plant, from Old English clafre
The story
Clover is the English word for the wild flower, ultimately from the Old English clafre, and Behind the Name leaves the entry at that: no saint, no queen, just the plant. The American ledger shows a name that was always around and never common: a handful of girls in the 1890s, about 140 in the 1910s, double and triple digits through the whole twentieth century, then the word-name turn: about 580 in the 2000s, about 1,610 in the 2010s, and about 2,430 so far this decade, with a small boys' line surfacing alongside. A word that spent a century as an eccentric choice and is now simply a choice, its meaning growing in every field the reader has ever walked past.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clover peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
33 people · the #88,550 first name in Brazil · median age 53
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Clover
Most people given the name Clover in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Clover deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Clover 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 Clover fits with your family’s names and surname.
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