The name Clive is a boy's name of English origin meaning "lives near a high cliff". Clive and is often added to lists like Boy Names That Mean Life and discussed in our forums with posts like "Name Association Game".
From the experts:
Clive used to be stereotyped as a clipped British name in a pith helmet and pencil-thin moustache, as in English military hero Clive of India--but this image has been turned on its ear by hunky Clive Owen.
William Makepeace Thackeray did a lot to launch this as a first name via his novel The Newcomes with Clive Newcombe being the hero--most likely inspired by the exploits of General Robert Clive, essentially the founder of British India.
Two other notable modern day Clives are writers Barker and Cussler.
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Clive is a clipped, simple and sophisticated, perfect for those who want strong handsome to-the-point names like Grant, Dean, Clark. I've always associated this prim-and-proper buttoned-up name with a British James-Bond-like dapper brown-haired man in his forties- basically Clive Owen, I guess. It also sounds like the name of a herb to me, I think because of it looks similar to chives.