Clyde
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Meaning
river name
The story
Clyde Tombaugh reached an observatory before he reached college. On his family's Kansas farm, he built telescopes from whatever he could obtain, including parts from farm machinery and an old car. He drew Mars and Jupiter so carefully that Lowell Observatory offered him a job. There he spent cold nights photographing the sky and comparing paired images for one point of light that moved. The work led him to Pluto. Long afterward, a heart-shaped region on the dwarf planet received the name Tombaugh Regio, and some of his ashes traveled past it aboard New Horizons. Clyde itself comes from the Scottish River Clyde, whose older origin remains uncertain. The astronomer did not create the name, but he gave it a remarkable trajectory: river, farm, handmade telescope, distant world. His story makes Clyde feel less like a map label and more like curiosity refusing to wait for perfect equipment.
How popular is Clyde around the world?
In the United States, 2,175 babies were named Clyde between 2020 and 2025.
Clyde is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Scotland, South Australia, France, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 10,000
In the United States, 2,175 babies were named Clyde between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Clyde peaked in the 1890s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 13,000
In Canada, 29 boys named Clyde were born in 2024, the 886th 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)
Scotland
1 in 15,000
In Scotland, 3 boys named Clyde were registered in 2024, the 727th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 5 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
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Clyde in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 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
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 boys named Clyde were born in 2025, ranked 4,009th 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)
England and Wales
1 in 200,000
In England and Wales, 3 boys named Clyde were born in 2025, ranked 5,137th 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
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 28 people in Brazil were named Clyde, ranked 99,072nd, 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
Ireland
last on record 1978
Clyde is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Montevideo City
last on record 1970
Clyde 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 1962
Clyde 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 Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, 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 Clyde
People given the name Clyde in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Clyde deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Clyde 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 Clyde fits with your family’s names and surname.
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