Clem
Masculine · “merciful”
Clem is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 4,275 boys against 54 girls since 1880.
Clem is mercy, cut short. Clement was a Roman word for mild or merciful before it was a name, and fourteen popes have carried it — more than almost any other.
How old is the name Clem?
Clem was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Clem alive today was born around 1927, making them about 98 years old. About 1,100 people named Clem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Clem most popular?
Clem peaked in 1889, reaching #260 nationally. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From clemens to Clem
The story of Clem
Clement of Rome was one of the earliest bishops of Rome, and his letter to the Corinthians is among the oldest Christian writings outside the New Testament. Fourteen later popes took the name. English used Clement from the Middle Ages, and the clipping Clem was ordinary spoken shorthand. American families registered it as a legal name in the nineteenth century, peaking around 1885.
Meaning
merciful, mild
Through Clement, from the Latin clemens, 'mild', 'gentle' or 'merciful'. It was an ordinary Latin adjective used as a byname, and the English words 'clement' and 'clemency' are the same root. The meaning has never been in doubt.
How the name formed
- clemens
- Clemens
- Clement
- Clem
Related forms: Clément · Clemente · Clemente · Klemens
Pronouncing Clem
KLEM
One syllable. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Clem
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1917102 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #260reached in 1889
- Change vs 2012
- +50.0%9 in 2017, from 6
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.
Clem in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Clément in French — related form
- Clemente in Italian — related form
- Clemente in Spanish — related form
- Klemens in German — related form
Clems among us
people named Clem are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Clem has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The meaning is transparent, undisputed and unambiguously good.
- Clement stands behind it with an unbroken record from the first century onward.
- One syllable, firm, and never mispronounced.
- Given outright it stays informal, with nothing longer on the certificate.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century in American records.
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Clem
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Clems are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Clem are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Clem in 2025?
- Clem is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Clem with classmates?
- Clem will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Clem? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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