Meaning & origin
How it developed
In English usage, Clemson as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to Clement.
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
Clemson through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 17
- 17 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1914
- 7 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 5 in 1942. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1914. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 573 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.
Clemson’s family of names
In English usage, Clemson as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to Clement.
The ring: across languages.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Clemson, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Eston
“from the eastern town”
>99% boys
Elson
“from the nobleman's town”
>99% boys
Elton
“a spontaneous woman” · “from the old town”
99% boys · 1% girls
Newton
“from the new town”
>99% boys
Gaston
“a man from Gascony”
>99% boys
Hilton
“a wealthy woman” · “from the town on the hill”
85% boys · 15% girls
Drexel
“a thoughtful man”
>99% boys
Anton
“a flourishing man; from an ancient Roman family”
>99% boys