Clenton
Masculine
Clenton respells an English place name that became an American surname and then a first name. The man who made the surname famous spent years being mocked for a project that turned out to be the most consequential piece of infrastructure in the country.
How old is the name Clenton?
Clenton first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Clenton alive today was born around 1937, making them about 88 years old. About 300 people named Clenton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Clenton most popular?
Clenton peaked in 1908, reaching #1113 nationally. See the whole 1908 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Clenton
De Witt Clinton pushed a canal from the Hudson to Lake Erie through three hundred and sixty miles of forest and rock, with no trained engineers in the country and no machinery worth the name, and the newspapers called it Clinton's Ditch and Clinton's Folly for most of the construction. It opened on time. Freight costs from the interior to New York dropped by something like ninety percent, the city became the busiest port in the country within a decade, and the whole pattern of American settlement shifted along the route. It also bankrupted nobody, having paid off its construction debt from tolls in under ten years.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The English place name behind Clinton is documented and its elements are reasonably clear. This spelling is not documented and no reason for the altered vowel has been recorded.
Pronouncing Clenton
KLEN-tun
Two syllables with the stress in front. The altered vowel is audible, which makes this one of the few respellings that changes the sound.
Nicknames for Clenton
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
- 1908
- Most boys named
- 193122 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1113reached in 1908
- Change vs 1990
- 0.0%5 in 2013, 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.
Clentons among us
people named Clenton 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
Clenton sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is read correctly at first sight and rarely needs spelling twice.
- Clint is available as a short form and is a complete name on its own.
- The changed letter is actually audible, so the spelling is not merely decorative.
- Clinton is the standard spelling and this one will be corrected to it regularly.
- The surname carries a strong political association in America that has nothing to do with the canal.
- No origin is documented for the respelling, so there is nothing to say when someone asks why.
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Clenton
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Clentons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Clenton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Clenton in 2025?
- Clenton is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Clenton with classmates?
- Clenton 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 Clenton? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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