Clay

Where Clay comes from

From a Middle English occupational name for a clay worker, or a habitational name, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Clay
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #403 among boys — 18 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1961
    Peak, #259
    900 babies named Clay — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1964
    Clay Shirky born
    American technology writer
  4. 1965
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #369.
  5. 1978
    Clay Aiken born
    American singer-songwriter, actor, and record producer
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
  • A diminutive of the male given name Clayton.
Namesakes
  • Clay Aiken · American singer-songwriter, actor, and record producer, born 1978
  • Clay Shirky · American technology writer, born 1964
  • Clay Shaw · American businessman, 1913–1974
  • Clay Higgins · American politician and reserve law enforcement officer, born 1961
  • Clay Guida · American mixed martial artist, born 1981

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.