Clemence
Feminine · “Latin clemens”
Clemence is given to both — 548 girls and 418 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Clement is a word English has nearly lost. It survives almost entirely in one phrase about weather, usually the negative one, and yet the name behind it has been carried by fourteen popes and used steadily in French for eight hundred years.
How old is the name Clemence?
Clemence first appears in US birth records in 1886 — 139 years ago. The typical Clemence alive today was born around 1918, making them about 107 years old. About 100 people named Clemence are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Clemence most popular?
Clemence peaked in 1890, reaching #872 nationally. Today it ranks #10107, 9,235 places below that high. See the whole 1890 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Clemens to Clemence
The story of Clemence
The Latin clemens meant mild in temper and mild in weather alike, and English borrowed both senses. The temper sense has almost gone: clement is now a word most speakers meet only in the phrase inclement weather, and usually only in its negative form, which is an unusual fate for an adjective. The name kept the other life. Clement was taken by fourteen popes, which fixed it in Catholic Europe, and its feminine forms became ordinary French names, so Clemence has been in continuous use across the Channel while English was letting the adjective die. English also has the doublet Clementine, which arrived through French and was carried into American memory by a song about a miner's daughter in the gold rush.
Meaning
Latin clemens, mild or merciful
From Latin clemens, mild, gentle or merciful, giving clementia, mercy. Clemence is the French and medieval English feminine; Clementine and Clementina are later elaborations. The peak of this spelling is 1890.
How the name formed
- Clemens
- Clementia
- Clemence
Related forms: Clemence · Clemenza · Clementine
Pronouncing Clemence
KLEM-ents
Two syllables in English, stress on the first. In French it is kle-MAHNS, with a nasal vowel and the stress at the end.
Nicknames for Clemence
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
- 1886
- Most girls named
- 191720 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #872reached in 1890
- Change vs 2023
- +80.0%9 in 2025, from 5
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.
Clemence in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Clemence in French — same name
- Clemenza in Italian — same name
- Clementine in English — related form
Clemences among us
people named Clemence are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 178,585 born in 2025 was named Clemence
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
Clemence 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
Clemence beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Clemence in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Clem and Clemmie are two established short forms.
- The Latin meaning is exact and entirely positive.
- It is a current name in France rather than a revival there.
- English and French say it very differently.
- Clementine is the form most Americans know.
- The 1890 peak places it among the oldest names in the records.
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Clemence
Feminine · #10107 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Clemences are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Clemence are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Clemence in 2025?
- Clemence ranks #10107 among US girl names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Clemence?
- About 1 in every 178,585 US girls born in 2025 was named Clemence — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Clemence with classmates?
- Clemence will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Clemence
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Berta#10107 · Jettie#10107 · Maye#10107 · Osa#10107 · Fidelia#10107 · Alysa#10107 · Su#10107 · Willie#10107
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Clemence? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Clemence and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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