# Clifton (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/clifton/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | “town by a cliff.”, “cliff”, “town” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈklɪftən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Cliff, Clif |
| Variant spellings | Cliffton |
| US babies named this | 70,685 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 70,249 / 436 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 7, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

*Literally meaning "town by a cliff." From Old English clif (“cliff”) + tūn (“town”). Analyzable as cliff + -ton. *In Oregon County, Missouri, from Cliff + -ton. From being named after a Cliff, or which may be clipped to Clif.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13 | 4,272 |
| 1971 | 6 | 7,555 |
| 1972 | 5 | 8,502 |
| 1974 | 10 | 5,420 |
| 1975 | 10 | 5,608 |
| 1976 | 11 | 5,276 |
| 1977 | 11 | 5,583 |
| 1978 | 7 | 7,773 |
| 1979 | 11 | 5,824 |
| 1981 | 6 | 9,347 |
| 1983 | 6 | 9,258 |
| 1984 | 6 | 9,367 |
| 1985 | 8 | 7,718 |
| 1987 | 5 | 11,662 |
| 1988 | 8 | 8,544 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 112 | 1,461 |
| 2012 | 130 | 1,317 |
| 2013 | 110 | 1,484 |
| 2014 | 119 | 1,416 |
| 2015 | 113 | 1,476 |
| 2016 | 90 | 1,726 |
| 2017 | 110 | 1,513 |
| 2018 | 102 | 1,608 |
| 2019 | 103 | 1,607 |
| 2020 | 112 | 1,506 |
| 2021 | 91 | 1,765 |
| 2022 | 78 | 1,969 |
| 2023 | 105 | 1,641 |
| 2024 | 95 | 1,738 |
| 2025 | 82 | 1,907 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 4 | 2,337 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 克利夫頓 /克利夫顿
- Irish: Clochán

## People named Clifton

- Clifton Webb, American actor, singer and dancer (1889–1966)
- Clifton Collins, American actor
- Clifton Williams, American astronaut (1932–1967)
- Clifton James, American actor (1920-2017)
- Clifton Powell, American actor and comedian
- Clifton Davis, American actor, musician and minister
- Henry Clifton Sorby, British scientist, founder of microscopical petrology and metallography (1826–1908)
- Clifton Chenier, American zydeco accordion player and singer (1925–1987)
- Clifton Fadiman, American author, editor, and radio and TV personality (1904–1999)
- Clifton McNeely, American basketball player-coach (1919-2003)
- Clifton Cushman, American hurdler (1938–1966)
- Clifton Young, actor (1917-1951)

## 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.