Cliff
About Cliff
Cliff is a familiar, timeless short form -- never too popular, yet widely known -- that you might also think of as a geographical name ala Vale or Field.
Pronounced KLIF.
As of October 2026, Cliff ranked #2895 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #358 in 1886.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #4,730 | 20 | 10.4 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | #4,982 | 19 | 10 |
| 2017 | #4,245 | 24 | 13 |
| 2018 | #4,631 | 21 | 11.6 |
| 2019 | #4,024 | 26 | 14.5 |
| 2020 | #2,667 | 47 | 27.2 |
| 2021 | #3,753 | 29 | 16.6 |
| 2022 | #3,475 | 33 | 18.9 |
| 2023 | #3,127 | 39 | 22.8 |
| 2024 | #2,995 | 41 | 23.8 |
| 2025 | #2,895 | 43 | 25.2 |
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Cliff.
- Buck
- Elvis
- Pepe
- Baxter
- Indiana
- Ike
- Buster
- Perry
- Ringo
- Brick
- Cuddy
- Frankie
- Groves
- Buddy
- Kip
- Hawkins
- Buzz
- Iggy
- Butch
- Bishop
Cliff on lists
Famous Cliffs
- Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb)
English pop singer
- Clifton Phifer "Cliff" Lee
American baseball player
- Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton
American bass guitarist for Metallica
- Clifford Charles "Cliff" Arquette
American actor
- Clifford John "Cliff" Bole
American TV director
- Clifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis
New Zealand actor
- Clifford Tobin "Cliff" DeYoung
American actor
- Cliff Martinez
American musician and composer
- Arthur Clifford "Cliff" Michelmore
English TV presenter
- Cliff Parisi
English actor
- Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III
American actor
- Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards
American jazz singer
- Clifford Allen "Cliff" Harris
American NFL player
- Clifford Bundy "Cliff" Stearns
Sr., U.S. Congressman from Florida
Cliff in pop culture
- Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable
main character on The Cosby Show
- Clifford C. "Cliff" Clavin
Jr., character on TV's "Cheers"
- Cliff Clewless
character from the comic strip Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!.
- Cliff Bradshaw
character in the musical Cabaret
- Cliff Barnes
character on TV's "Dallas"
- Cliff Booth
character in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"