Clay: name meaning, origin & popularity
- Meaning
- “clay, earth”
- Origin
- English
- Say it
- KLAY · 1 syllable
- Used for
- Boys
From an English surname for someone who lived near or worked with clay. It also functions as a short form of Clayton.
How popular is Clay?
Babies named Clay in 2024550
2024 rank#543 boys
Peak year1960
Total US babies since 188040,009
Clay is rising: use over the last five years is 1.7× what it was a decade earlier.
Names like Clay
Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.
Clay questions
What does the name Clay mean?
Clay means "clay, earth". It comes from English. From an English surname for someone who lived near or worked with clay. It also functions as a short form of Clayton.
Is Clay a boy or girl name?
Clay is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).
How popular is Clay?
550 US babies were named Clay in 2024. Its peak year was 1960.
How do you pronounce Clay?
Clay is usually pronounced KLAY.
Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.