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Clive - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Clive

[ 1 syll. cli-ve, cl-ive ] The boy name Clive is pronounced as KLAYV KEY. Clive is used mostly in the English language and it is of Old English origin. From the word 'clif' meaning cliff, riverbank, slope. The first name is derived from the surname, which is in turn from a nickname for one who lived near a cliff. The place name is found in several English counties such as Cheshire and Shropshire. The given name was first bestowed in honor of Major-General Robert Clive (1725-1774), better known as 'Clive of India', one of the key figures in the creation of British India. The name was especially common with parents who were employees of his extensive East India Company. In literature, the name is borne by the fictional Clive Newcombe in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel The Newcomes (1855), who is supposedly named after the British general.

The English names Cleve, Cliff, and Clyve are variant forms of the name. See also the related form, the German Clivia.

Clive is an uncommon baby boy name. At the modest height of its usage in 1906, 0.008% of baby boys were given the name Clive. It was #763 in rank then. The baby name has seen a fall in popularity since then, and is currently used on an infrequent scale. Within all boy names in its family, Clive was nonetheless the most popular in 2008.

Baby names that sound like Clive include the English Clyve, the English Cleve, the English Cliff, the Arabic Kalb, the English Caleb, the English Cliffie, the English Colby, the Dutch, English, German, and Hebrew Kaleb, the English Kalebh, the Hebrew Kalev, the English Keelby, the English Kelbie, the English Kelby, the Arabic Khalif, the English Kolby, the English Coleby, and the Arabic Khalifa.

Details of famous persons named Clive:
Actor Clive Owen, born 3 October 1964, Coventry, England.
Author C.S. Lewis, born Clive Staples Lewis 29 November 1898 - 22 November 1963, Belfast, Ireland.
TV presenter Clive Anderson, born 10 December 1952, Middlesex, England.

KEY: Pronunciation for Clive: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AY as in "hide (HH.AY.D)" ; V as in "vee (V.IY)"


 
Popularity Trend
for Clive
from 1900 to 2008
Variant Popularity Chart
for Clive
in 2008
 

Meaning of Clive Meaning of Cleve Meaning of Cliff Meaning of Clyve Meaning of Clivia Meaning of Cleveland Meaning of Clifford Meaning of Clifton Meaning of Radcliff