Cliff
A boys’ name of Old English origin, meaning steep slope or cliff; short for Clifford.
Babies a year
24
the US, 2017
Rarity
Very rare
among names in use
US popularity
—
outside the top 1000
UK popularity
—
outside the ONS list
Cliff by the numbers
Cliff was given to 24 American babies in 2017, the most recent full year we hold.
Its American peak was 309 babies in 1959, so it is a 1950s name that has since fallen a long way.
Spelled almost the same
Other names in the records within a letter or two of Cliff. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.
Other names that mean a mountain
Like Cliff, each of these has a mountain in its meaning. Different names, different histories, the same idea.
- Aaronmountain of strength; exalted7,185 in the US (2017)
- Landonlong hill; open grassy hill6,390 in the US (2017)
- Brandonbeacon hill or gorse covered hill3,482 in the US (2017)
- Arlofortified hill; barberry tree2,083 in England and Wales (2025)
- Knoxround hill1,646 in the US (2017)
- Harlowrocky hill or army hill832 in the US (2017)
Names about as common as Cliff
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