Names › Boy › C › Cliff
Boy name

Cliff

/ˈklɪf/ · 100% boys · 43 born in 2025

Cliff has been given to about 9,307 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1959, which makes it a midcentury name.

Meaning—
Origin—
Syllables1
Pronunciation/ˈklɪf/
Nicknames—
Living in the US≈ 6,609
Median age today61 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Cliff per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandFranceeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1959 · 310
  • Born in 202543
  • All time9,307

How popular is Cliff?

Its best year was 1959, when 310 babies were given the name, ranking 456th. The typical living American called Cliff is about 61 years old today.

Names that sound like Cliff

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Clint0.60
  2. Clifford0.51
  3. Clifton0.50
  4. Cris0.51
  5. Colin0.48
  6. Clair0.48
  7. Collin0.47
  8. Kim0.47

Middle names for Cliff

Ranked by flow score
  1. Cliff Thomas0.74
  2. Cliff James0.74
  3. Cliff Miles0.70
  4. Cliff Wilder0.69
  5. Cliff Cole0.59
  6. Cliff Paul0.55

Sibling names for Cliff

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Gwensister · 0.88
  2. Rockybrother · 0.87
  3. Laurelsister · 0.84
  4. Margosister · 0.84
  5. Rudybrother · 0.84
  6. Jaybrother · 0.82

Where Cliff is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state

    With a common surname

    Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
    1. Cliff Evans0.73
    2. Cliff Edwards0.73
    3. Cliff Anderson0.73
    4. Cliff Allen0.73
    5. Cliff Adams0.73
    6. Cliff Walker0.69

    How to read these numbers

    Every score on this page is explained
    1. Phonetic similarity0–1
    2. Middle-name flow0–1
    3. Sibling fit0–1
    4. Living population estimatemethod
    5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Sources for Cliff

    Every figure on this page is public record
    1. United States1880–2025
    2. England & Wales1996–2025
    3. Scotland1974–2020
    4. France1900–2025
    5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    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.