Clive - Meaning of Clive

What does Clive mean?

Pronounce
Clive

[ 1 syll. cli-ve, cl-ive ] The baby boy name Clive is pronounced as KLayV- †. Clive is used mostly in the English language and it is of Old English origin. It is 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 baby 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 Cleve, the name Cli, the English Cliff, the name Cliv, the English Clyve, and the name Klyve are derivatives of Clive.

See also the related form, the English and German Clivia.

See also the related categories, english, honor, cliff, general (universal), and literature.

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 2018.

Baby names that sound like Clive include Cliv, Clyve, Klyve, Cailob, Calv, Caylob, Clef, Cleve, Cliff, Clove, Kaelob, Kalb, Kaylob, Keelby, Kelbe, Kleaf, Kleafe, Kleef, Kleefe, and Kleif.

† Pronunciation for Clive: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; AY as in "side (S.AY.D)" ; V as in "vow (V.AW)"

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.