Given name & surname
Cliffton
“from the town near the cliff”
Cliffton is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the town near the cliff.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the town near the cliff.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cliffton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,872
- 1,872 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 67 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #10,932 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −43%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,932 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 67 in 1982. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,231 as a first name in 2020; 220 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.
Cliffton’s family of names
Cliffton has a related form in Cliffeton. Cliffton has a related form in Cliffetun. Cliffton has a related form in Clifftun.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Cliffton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“from the town on the hill”
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“from the farm on the ledge”
>99% boys
Lakeith
Lakeith is a masculine given name from English. It is used in French.
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Sheldon
“from the steep valley”
>99% boys
Lao
Lao is a surname from Hokkien, ultimately from English. It is used in Tagalog.
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Denton
“from the town in the valley”
>99% boys
Tyrice
Tyrice is a masculine given name from English. It is used in French.
>99% boys