Clarence
From the English dukedom of Clarence, a title coined in the fourteenth century from the place name Clare in Suffolk, with the Latin ending -ensis.
Clarence in 2025
Clarence was given to 117 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 3,184th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 28,336 babies born.
The history of Clarence
Clarence reached its highest point in 1921, when 7,367 babies were given the name, ranking 64th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 49th, in 1880.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 305,423 babies have been named Clarence. Half of them were born before 1930, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Clarence by decade
| Decade | Babies named Clarence | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 8,777 | 49 |
| 1890s | 11,949 | 63 |
| 1900s | 13,651 | 69 |
| 1910s | 49,468 | 54 |
| 1920s | 66,979 | 63 |
| 1930s | 42,958 | 81 |
| 1940s | 36,402 | 130 |
| 1950s | 29,669 | 200 |
| 1960s | 17,662 | 331 |
| 1970s | 10,792 | 404 |
| 1980s | 7,438 | 546 |
| 1990s | 4,548 | 790 |
| 2000s | 2,592 | 1,343 |
| 2010s | 1,795 | 2,186 |
| 2020s | 743 | 2,845 |
Where Clarence is heading
Clarence has fallen 37% over the past decade, from 185 babies in 2015 to 117 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1921 peak — Clarence is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Clarence
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Clarence.