# Claude (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/claude/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “lame” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈklɔd/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Claud |
| US babies named this | 92,289 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 91,337 / 952 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 217, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

In use from the 16th century. Borrowed from French Claude, from Latin Claudius, the name of a Roman gens. The clan name is traditionally said to be from Latin claudus (“lame”), but is most likely of Sabine origin.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 7 | 5,359 |
| 1967 | 7 | 5,560 |
| 1968 | 5 | 7,180 |
| 1969 | 8 | 5,531 |
| 1970 | 6 | 7,213 |
| 1971 | 8 | 6,102 |
| 1972 | 9 | 5,558 |
| 1973 | 5 | 8,662 |
| 1974 | 8 | 6,355 |
| 1975 | 6 | 8,180 |
| 1976 | 7 | 7,432 |
| 1979 | 8 | 7,442 |
| 1980 | 5 | 10,703 |
| 1981 | 7 | 8,289 |
| 1993 | 5 | 13,918 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 47 | 2,595 |
| 2012 | 45 | 2,685 |
| 2013 | 43 | 2,722 |
| 2014 | 42 | 2,815 |
| 2015 | 52 | 2,433 |
| 2016 | 55 | 2,368 |
| 2017 | 40 | 2,965 |
| 2018 | 51 | 2,515 |
| 2019 | 42 | 2,904 |
| 2020 | 44 | 2,768 |
| 2021 | 38 | 3,134 |
| 2022 | 34 | 3,424 |
| 2023 | 39 | 3,129 |
| 2024 | 35 | 3,345 |
| 2025 | 40 | 3,044 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 | 2,629 |
| 2011 | 9 | 2,194 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,458 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2,660 |
| 2014 | 8 | 2,459 |
| 2015 | 4 | 3,908 |
| 2016 | 7 | 2,804 |
| 2017 | 10 | 2,172 |
| 2018 | 8 | 2,445 |
| 2019 | 5 | 3,411 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,404 |
| 2022 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2,813 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2,671 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2,014 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Кла́вдий, Клод
- Catalan: Claudi
- Chinese: 克勞德 /克劳德
- Esperanto: Klaŭdio
- French: Claude
- Italian: Claudio
- Latvian: Klaudijs
- Polish: Klaudiusz
- Portuguese: Cláudio
- Romanian: Claudiu
- Russian: Клавдий, Клод
- Spanish: Claudio
- Tagalog: Claudio
- Ukrainian: Клавдій

## People named Claude

- Claude Debussy, French classical composer (1862–1918)
- Claude Lévi-Strauss, French anthropologist and ethnologist (1908–2009)
- Claude Simon, French writer (1913–2005)
- Claude Bernard, French physiologist (1813-1878)
- Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French early socialist theorist (1760-1825)
- Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher; (1715-1771)
- Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, French physicist and Nobel laureate (1933–2026)
- Claude Shannon, American mathematician and information theorist (1916–2001)
- Claude Chabrol, French film director (1930–2010)
- Claude Makelélé, French football manager (born 1973)
- Claude Lelouch, French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer (born 1937)
- Claude Jade, French actress (1948-2006)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.