Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Cleland isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cleland through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 246
- 246 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 1956. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 17 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 139 as a first name in 2020; 3,904 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cleland’s family of names
In English usage, Cleland as a surname has a related form in CLELLAND.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Cleland
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cleland, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Clement
“merciful” · “a merciful man”
>99% boys
Rowland
“from the renowned land”
>99% boys
Armand
“of the army; a soldier”
>99% boys
Ferdinand
“a courageous voyager”
>99% boys
Einer
“a leading warrior”
>99% boys
Harland
“an athletic woman” · “from the army”
95% boys · 5% girls
Claude
“one who is lame”
>99% boys
Clovis
“a renowned warrior”
>99% boys