Cloud
Masculine · “famous rule”
Cloud is given to both — 750 boys and 26 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Cloud is an English word and, quite separately, a French saint whose name has nothing to do with weather. Clodoald was a Frankish prince, and French wore his name down to Cloud, which the English word then swallowed whole.
How old is the name Cloud?
Cloud first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Cloud is a kid of about 9 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Cloud are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cloud most popular?
Cloud peaked in 1924, reaching #2473 nationally. Today it ranks #3089, 616 places below that high. See the whole 1924 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Chlodoald to Cloud
The story of Cloud
Clodoald escaped the murder of his brothers by his uncles, became a monk rather than a king, and gave his name to Saint-Cloud outside Paris — from which Saint Cloud, Minnesota, takes its own. Meanwhile the English word cloud began as a word for a rock and moved to the sky by resemblance, replacing the older welkin. As a given name Cloud reaches American records both ways, and the weather reading is the one nearly everyone hears.
Meaningscholars disagree
famous rule — through Clodoald; or the English word
Saint Cloud was Clodoald, a grandson of Clovis, and the name joins Germanic hlod, 'fame, glory', to wald, 'rule' — the same elements as Clovis and, through them, Louis. French wore it to Cloud. That reading is documented. English cloud is a separate word entirely, from Old English clud, which meant a rock or a hill before it meant a mass of vapour, on the resemblance.
How the name formed
- Chlodoald
- Cloud
Related forms: Cloud · Chlodoald · Clodoald
Pronouncing Cloud
KLOWD
One syllable, rhyming with loud. French says the saint's name closer to KLOO, with the final consonants silent, which is a completely different sound at the same spelling.
Nicknames for Cloud
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 202050 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2473reached in 1924
- Change vs 2024
- −11.4%39 in 2025, from 44
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.
Cloud in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cloud in French — same name
- Chlodoald in German — related form
- Clodoald in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Minnesota.
Clouds among us
people named Cloud are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 43,797 born in 2025 was named Cloud
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
Cloud 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
Where Cloud is headed
Cloud should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Cloud beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cloud in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Said and spelled correctly by every English speaker without being told.
- A genuinely surprising documented origin behind the French saint's name.
- One syllable, which pairs cleanly with a longer surname.
- It is an ordinary weather noun and will be read that way by everyone.
- The French and English pronunciations of the same spelling are entirely different.
- Word-names of this kind attract comment more than most.
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What they receive
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Cloud
Masculine · #3089 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Clouds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Cloud are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cloud in 2025?
- Cloud ranks #3089 among US boy names in 2025, with 39 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cloud?
- About 1 in every 43,797 US boys born in 2025 was named Cloud — 39 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cloud with classmates?
- Cloud will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cloud
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Aadi#3089 · Wynston#3089 · Braelyn#3089 · Leopoldo#3089 · Zaedyn#3089 · Saxon#3089 · Rehan#3089 · Cree#3089
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cloud? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cloud and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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