Clover
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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.
How popular is Clover around the world?
In the United States, 2,491 babies were named Clover between 2020 and 2025.
Clover is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, Scotland, Canada and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,700
In the United States, 2,491 babies were named Clover between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clover peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 9,000
In England and Wales, 65 girls named Clover were born in 2025, the 596th most common name among girls 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
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 girls named Clover were registered in 2024, the 638th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Canada
1 in 14,000
In Canada, 26 girls named Clover were born in 2024, ranked 1,023rd among girls 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)
Argentina
last on record 2019
Clover 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
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 33 people in Brazil were named Clover, ranked 88,550th, with a median age of 53.
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
South Australia
last on record 2016
Clover is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand 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 Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births 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 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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