Clyde

← Back to The Renaissance

Boy · Scottish river name

Clyde

Say it: KLYD

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From the River Clyde in Scotland, whose ancient name (Clota) is Celtic; often linked to a root meaning 'to wash' but uncertain.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Popular in the US around 1880 to 1930.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1880s

In the United States

0123418801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1905per 1,000 babies of that sex
  • 147,083 babies given this name since 1880
  • At its height in 1883, about 1 in 311 boys
  • 345 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
  2. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

AmericanScottish

Famous bearers

  • Clyde Barrow, American outlaw

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
  • National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.