Clive

Did you know?

A few things about Clive you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Clive

Clive Owen

English actor

Choose Clive and your child shares a first name with Clive Owen, an English actor. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Clive, like who?” Clive Owen's Wikipedia article is available in 61 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Clive Owen on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Alfonso_Cuarón_y_Clive_Owen_(Children_of_men).jpg: Mario Antonio Pena Zapatería derivative work: Jan Arkesteijn (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 29,940 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Clive, 57 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Clive would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryClive first shows up in US birth records in 1885, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 140 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1906, when it ranked #752. Today it's #2,390, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowClive is 3.4× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 103,093 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 29,940.
• 📍Where it's lovedClive is most popular in Missouri, where it ranks #869. It's in the top 1,000 in 1 state.
• 💬MeaningIn English, Clive means “cliff”.

About the name Clive

Clive is a boy name of English origin meaning “cliff”. It has 5 letters and 1 syllable, starting with C and ending in “-ive”. US birth records list Clive for boys from 1885 to 2025, in 126 of those 141 years. Its best year was 1906, when it ranked #752 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #2,390, with 57 babies.

Origin:English names