Claudius
Masculine · “Latin claudus”
The family name Claudius means lame, and the emperor who carried it was. His limp and his stammer are the reason he survived the purges that killed everyone else in his family: he was thought too ridiculous to be a threat.
How old is the name Claudius?
Claudius first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Claudius alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 400 people named Claudius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Claudius most popular?
Claudius peaked in 1893, reaching #768 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 9,927 places below that high. See the whole 1893 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Claudius
Roman family names were often physical and rarely flattering, and the Claudii kept theirs for eight hundred years. Their most famous member acquired it appropriately: Tiberius Claudius Drusus, born in 10 BC with what modern writers guess may have been cerebral palsy, walked badly, drooled and stammered, was kept out of public life by a family that found him an embarrassment, and spent his time writing history. When the praetorians killed Caligula in AD 41 he was the last adult male of the house, and they made him emperor. He ruled for thirteen years, annexed Britain, and completed public works that others had abandoned. The name entered later European use through the family, through several saints, and, in England, largely through his reputation as a scholar.
Meaning
Latin claudus, lame
From the Roman family name Claudius, from claudus, lame or limping. The Claudii were one of the oldest patrician houses of Rome. The American peak is 1893.
Pronouncing Claudius
KLAW-dee-us
Three syllables, stress on the first. The Latin has the same stress; the Romance forms drop the ending.
Nicknames for Claudius
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1890
- Most boys named
- 191623 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #768reached in 1893
- Change vs 2018
- −14.3%6 in 2025, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Claudius in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Claude in French — same name
- Claudio in Spanish — same name
- Claudio in Italian — same name
Claudiuss among us
people named Claudius are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Claudius
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Claudius sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Claudius beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Claudius in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Roman family behind it is documented for eight centuries.
- Claude and Claudio are available as shorter forms.
- Three syllables with a firm opening.
- The literal meaning is lame, which is worth knowing.
- It reads as strongly classical in English.
- Its 1893 peak places it early in the records.
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Claudius
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Claudiuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Claudius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Claudius in 2025?
- Claudius ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Claudius?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Claudius — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Claudius with classmates?
- Claudius will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Claudius
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Claudius? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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