Clementina vs Cleve
American parents have registered 4,529 Cleves since 1880, against 1,697 Clementinas. But in 2025 it was Clementina that was commoner, 12 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Clementina Cleve
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 142 years in which either name was published, Cleve for 117 years and Clementina for 25 years. The lead changed hands 5 times.
- 1882–1995 Cleve ahead
- 1996–1998 Clementina ahead
- 1999–2000 Cleve ahead
- 2003–2008 Clementina ahead
- 2009 Cleve ahead
- 2010–2025 Clementina ahead
Side by side
| Clementina | Cleve | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,697 | 4,529 |
| Most in one year | 47 | 83 |
| Babies in 2025 | 12 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 770 | 1,700 |
| Median age today | 48 | 64 |
| Peak year | 1925 | 1951 |
| Best rank | 1,119th girls | 766th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 8,362nd | unranked |
| First recorded | 1888 | 1882 |
| Girls / boys | 1,697 / 0 | 23 / 4,506 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Cleves alive today are over 64; half the Clementinas are over 48. That is 16 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Clementina New York (5.4×), Massachusetts (5.0×), Texas (2.3×)
- Cleve Alabama (8.8×), Georgia (6.1×), Mississippi (5.7×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Clementina and Cleve.