Clay has been given to about 40,525 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1960, which makes it a boomer-era name.
Clay ranks 573rd among American boys in 2025, with 515 born that year. Its best year was 1960, when 911 babies were given the name, ranking 265th. The typical living American called Clay is about 39 years old today. It is relatively most common in Iowa, where it accounts for 0.11% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.