Clay (name)

Clay is both an English surname and a given name, often short for Clayton.

People with the name

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 76.1% of all known bearers of the surname Clay were residents of the United States (frequency 1:5,846), 12.5% of England (1:5,460), 2.7% of Australia (1:10,816), 1.4% of Canada (1:31,264) and 1.2% of France (1:69,714).

In England, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:5,460) in the following counties:

• 1. Nottinghamshire (1:1,287)
• 2. Derbyshire (1:2,238)
• 3. Lincolnshire (1:2,318)
• 4. Staffordshire (1:2,357)
• 5. Leicestershire (1:2,705)
• 6. Warwickshire (1:2,752)
• 7. West Yorkshire (1:2,838)
• 8. Herefordshire (1:2,856)
• 9. South Yorkshire (1:3,014)
• 10. Shropshire (1:3,271)
• 11. North Yorkshire (1:4,378)
• 12. Cornwall (1:4,867)
• 13. Hertfordshire (1:5,093)
• 14. Cambridgeshire (1:5,301)

In the United States, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:5,846) in the following states:[1]

• 1. West Virginia (1:1,501)
• 2. Mississippi (1:1,690)
• 3. Georgia (1:2,391)
• 4. Arkansas (1:2,794)
• 5. Alabama (1:2,876)
• 6. Missouri (1:3,086)
• 7. Kentucky (1:3,223)
• 8. Louisiana (1:3,418)
• 9. Oklahoma (1:3,507)
• 10. Tennessee (1:3,769)
• 11. Ohio (1:4,169)
• 12. Virginia (1:4,296)
• 13. Texas (1:4,473)
• 14. North Carolina (1:4,705)
• 15. Illinois (1:5,138)
• 16. Michigan (1:5,431)
• 17. Maryland (1:5,696)
• 18. Indiana (1:5,723)

Surname

• Adam Clay (disambiguation), multiple people
• Alfred Borron Clay (1831–1868), artist
• Allyson Clay, Canadian artist
• Bryan Clay (born 1980), gold medalist in the decathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
• Cassius Clay (1942–2016), birth name of American boxer Muhammad Ali
• Cassius Marcellus Clay (politician) (1810–1903), American politician, abolitionist
• Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. (1912–1990), American painter and musician and father of Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
• Charles Clay (American football) (born 1989), American football fullback/tight end
• Craig Clay (born 1992), English footballer
• Edward Sneyd Clay (c. 1768–1846), British naval officer
• Edward Clay (born 1945), British diplomat
• Eric Clay (1922–2007), British rugby league referee
• Frederic Clay (1838-1889), British composer
• Grady Clay (1916–2013), American journalist
• Henry Clay (1777–1852), leading American statesman and orator
• James Clay (disambiguation), multiple people
• John Clay (disambiguation), multiple people
• Kaelin Clay (born 1992), American football player
• Lacy Clay (born 1956), U.S. House Representative
• Lauren Clay (born 1982), American artist
• Lucius D. Clay (1897–1978), American general and military governor
• Otis Clay (1942–2016), American R&B and soul singer
• Philippe Clay (1927–2007), French singer
• Rudolph M. Clay (1936–2013), American politician
• Rudolph Valentino Clay (born 1944), the original name of American boxer Rahman Ali, brother of Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)

Given name

• Clay Aiken (born 1978), popular music singer
• Clay Buchholz (born 1984), Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Clay Cook (born 1978), guitarist, keyboardist, mandolinist, steel guitarist, and vocalist in Zac Brown Band
• Clay Hensley (born 1979), professional baseball player
• Clay Higgins (born 1961), American politician
• Clay Martin Croker (1962–2016), Voice actor and animator
• Clay S. Jenkinson (born 1955), Rhodes Scholar and popular historical reenacto
• Clay Jenkins (born 1964), American politician and lawyer
• Clay Johnston (American football) (born 1996), American football player
• Clay Matthews, Sr. (1928-2017), former offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers
• Clay Matthews, Jr. (born 1956), former linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons, son of former
• Clay Matthews III (born 1986), current linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, son of former
• Clay Regazzoni (1939–2006), Swiss racing car driver
• Clay Travis (born 1979), American sports journalist
• Clay Walker (born 1969), American country music singer

Fictional characters

• Clay, the first host of Playhouse Disney
• Clay (Pokémon), a character in the Pokémon universe
• Clay Bailey, a character in the animated television series Xiaolin Showdown
• Faceas Clay, an antagonist from the Strider Hiryu manga and NES Game
• Clay Davis, a corrupt politician on The Wire
• Clay Jensen, a character in the novel and Netflix series 13 Reasons Why
• Clay Kaczmarek, a character from the Assassin's Creed games
• Clay Moorington, a character from the series Nexo Knights
• Clay Morrow, a character on Sons of Anarchy
• Clay Simons, a character in Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned
• Clay Terran, a character from the series Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
• Caduceus Clay, a character from the web series Critical Role

References

1. "Clay surname distribution". forebears.io.