Cliff is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Cliff means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Cliff across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Cliff has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Cliff is a boy name of Old English origin meaning “cliff, slope”. A short form of Clifford or Clifton.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 9,307 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 10 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 14 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Cliff per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1959 (310/yr) · Ireland peaked in 1981 (4/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2013 (4/yr).
Cliff has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1959, when it ranked #992 nationally (given to 310 babies that year).
Cliffie · Clive · Clif · Caliph · Kalief · Kalifa
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