ninan.org

Clarence

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~88,000 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,499 among boys
Births in 2025
117 305,423 since 1880
Typical age
67 years, median

Clarence popularity over time

Clarence rank by birth year, 1880–2025Clarence ranked #21 in 1880 and #1,499 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #17, in 1885.#100#1,000#1,499best #17 in 188518901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Clarence in 1921 than in any other year — 7,367 of them. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Clarence has spent 72 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #1,499, on 117 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 37%. It climbed 52 places against the previous year.

Babies named Clarence per yearPeaks at 7,367 births in 1921.7,367 in 1921018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Clarence?

About 88,000 people named Clarence are alive in the United States today. That is out of 305,423 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Clarence?

Half of living Clarences are older than 67, half younger. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Clarence a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Clarence

Ages of living people named ClarenceHalf of living Clarences are older than 67 and half younger.median 67020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Clarence is most common

Relative to births, Wisconsin carries 1.9× the national share of Clarences.

Where Clarence is used more than average2 states use the name Clarence more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.9× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: 1.4× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Clarence is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Wisconsin 35 1.9×
Florida 101 1.4×

Where the name Clarence comes from

Originally a ducal title of the English and British royal family, from Clārensis (“from the town of Clare”), (the town of Clare, Suffolk), although it has also been associated with Italian Chiarenza, Clarentza, &c, a former fortress and settlement in the medieval Frankish Principality of Achaea in Greece.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Clarence

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Clarence Seedorf Dutch association football player and manager 1976 65
Clarence Thomas Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991 1948 48
Clarence Darrow American lawyer and politician 1857–1938 48
Clarence Brown American film director 1890–1987 35
Clarence Clemons American saxophonist 1942–2011 34
Clarence Zener American physicist 1905–1993 31
Clarence Gilyard American actor 1955–2022 31
Clarence Nash American voice actor 1904–1985 29
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,790 in 1911 to 3,605 in 1912 — 2.0 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/clarence.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).