Clay is a rich, earthy one-syllable name with a southern-inflected handsome-rogue image, featured on soap operas and reality TV. The numbers have dropped over the past few years, but it could make a comeback. Its longer forms are Clayton and Clayborne.
There have been TV characters called Clay on The Wire and Sons of Anarchy, and the name's most prominent recent bearers are American Idol Clay (born Clayton) Aiken and Green Bay Packer linebacker Clay (born William Clay) Matthews.
