Given name
Clete
“one who has been summoned”
Clete is a variant of Cletus. One Greek interpretation is “one who has been summoned.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Clete is a variant of Cletus. One Greek interpretation is “one who has been summoned.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Clete is a variant of Cletus. An origin associated with Cletus is Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1948. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Clete through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 281
- 281 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1965
- 18 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 6 in 2017. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 18 in 1965. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 362 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Clete
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Clete, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Chet
“a vivacious woman”
>99% boys
Pete
“as solid and strong as a rock”
>99% boys
Cliff
“from the town near the cliff” · “from the ford near the cliff”
>99% boys
Jens
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Ernie
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
>99% boys
Terence
“learned” · “instigator”
>99% boys
Ritchie
“a powerful ruler”
>99% boys
Joell
“Jehovah is God; God is willing”
>99% boys