boy's name
Clinton
KLIN-ten
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 99,435
Ireland
#832
2013 births
Clinton means the settlement on the hill, from an English place name — and the two American presidents who carried it did so by adoption and by surname, not by descent from the place.
- Clinton is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1981, when 2,222 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 35,270 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Clinton over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 867 |
| 1890s | 857 |
| 1900s | 1,122 |
| 1910s | 5,320 |
| 1920s | 8,512 |
| 1930s | 6,748 |
| 1940s | 7,720 |
| 1950s | 9,359 |
| 1960s | 10,320 |
| 1970s | 16,442 |
| 1980s | 17,642 |
| 1990s | 7,935 |
| 2000s | 2,585 |
| 2010s | 1,912 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 664 |
What Clinton means
Clinton means the settlement on the hill, or the fenced settlement. The Old English joins an element read as a hill or fence to tun, an enclosure or farmstead.
Where Clinton comes from
Clinton is an English place name, usually derived from Glympton in Oxfordshire or Glinton in Cambridgeshire, joining an element read as a hill or a fence to tun, an enclosure or settlement. The de Clinton family came over with the Conquest, and the name crossed to America as a surname, carried by DeWitt Clinton, who drove the Erie Canal. The tun element is the ancestor of the modern town and ends thousands of English place names.
Clinton in use
Clinton peaked in the United States in 1981, when 2,222 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 1740th in the United States on 94 births, across 99,435 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1880, so it has a long American history predating any political association.
How popular is Clinton?
In 2025, Clinton was given to 94 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Clinton is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Clinton
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Clinton also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Clinton over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Clinton
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Clinton in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Clint
Sibling names for Clinton
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Clinton — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Clinton
What does the name Clinton mean?
The settlement on the hill — an element read as hill or fence joined to tun, an enclosure.
Is Clint short for Clinton?
Yes, and it is also used as a name in its own right.
Where does the place name come from?
Usually Glympton in Oxfordshire or Glinton in Cambridgeshire.
How popular is Clinton?
1740th in the United States, down from a 1981 peak of 2,222 births.
Is Clinton a girl's or a boy's name?
Clinton is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Clinton?
Clinton has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Clinton?
Clinton is usually shortened to Clint.
Is Clinton a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Clinton currently ranks #1,740 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.