Clive
About Clive
Clive started life as a surname for someone who lived near a cliff, making it a secret outdoorsy name.
Its use as a first name began in honor of Robert Clive (aka Clive of India), an eighteenth-century British statesman and military leader, essentially the founder of British India — which in the past has given the name something of a gung-ho, mustachioed image. In England today it's a grandpa name, most common on men born in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and would be a surprising (pleasantly counter-cultural!) choice for a baby.
In the States, Clive has never been widely used, though there are signs that more parents are starting to consider it. It has been given to more boys in the last decade than ever before, though still under one hundred a year. If you're looking for a short, no-nonsense nature name that everyone knows but hardly anyone's using, Clive could be a great option.
Famous Clives helping to shake off the colonial image include British silver fox actor Clive Owen; Narnia author Clive Staples Lewis; and most recently Clive Rosfield, the hero of Final Fantasy XVI.
Pronounced KLYV.
As of October 2026, Clive ranked #2398 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #764 in 1906, Nameberry popularity #310.
Editor's take: The name Clive is a boy's name of English origin meaning "lives near a high cliff".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,890 | 77 | 40.1 |
| 2015 | #1,817 | 82 | 42.8 |
| 2016 | #1,791 | 85 | 44.8 |
| 2017 | #2,069 | 67 | 36.2 |
| 2018 | #1,839 | 82 | 45.2 |
| 2019 | #2,189 | 64 | 35.7 |
| 2020 | #2,397 | 55 | 31.9 |
| 2021 | #2,097 | 69 | 39.4 |
| 2022 | #2,496 | 55 | 31.5 |
| 2023 | #2,483 | 54 | 31.6 |
| 2024 | #2,056 | 73 | 42.4 |
| 2025 | #2,398 | 57 | 33.4 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Clive.
- Morris
- Hal
- Fitzgerald
- Fritz
- Murray
- Wendell
- Sampson
- Phinneas
- Fergus
- Rudy
- Seymour
- Vernon
- Nigel
- Guy
- Ned
- Laurie
- Giles
- Lars
- Gulliver
- Irving
Clive on lists
Famous Clives
- Clive Owen
English actor
- Clive Staples "C.S." Lewis
Northern Irish novelist
- Clive William John Granger
Welsh economist and Nobel Prize winner
- Clive Eric Cussler
American novelist
- Clive Barker
English novelist
- Clive Davis
American record producer and executive
- (Arthur) Clive Heward Bell
English art critic
- Clive Ronald Burr
drummer of English band Iron Maiden
- Clive Rush
American NFL football coach
- Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn
English actor
- Clive James Standen
English actor
- Clive John "Benji" Webbe
British singer of bands Skindred and Dub War
- Robert Clive
1st Baron Clive aka Clive of India, British officer, founder of the East India Company
- Clive Swift
English actor & songwriter
- Clive Hornby
English actor and musician
Clive in pop culture
- Clive Newcombe
character in William Thackeray's "The Newcombes"
- Clive O'Brian
character in the video game Resident Evil: Revelations
- Clive Yorkin
character on TV's "The Flash"
- Clive Babineaux
character on Tv show "iZombie"
- Clive Dove
character in the game "Professor Layton and the Lost Future"
- Clive
Invisible friend of Garfield the cat in some Garfield strips