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Clifford

Boy name · 40 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Clifford: 40 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 8 births in 1974.

Clifford comes from an Old English place name meaning “ford by a cliff,” combining *clif* (cliff, steep slope) and *ford* (river crossing). The name is forever linked to two very different characters: Clifford Brown, the brilliant jazz trumpeter whose career was cut short at 25, and – perhaps more recognisably – Clifford the Big Red Dog, the enormous, gentle protagonist of Norman Bridwell’s beloved children’s books. While there are several English villages called Clifford, the name also appears in Scottish place-names such as Clifford Park in Edinburgh. An interesting detail: despite its English roots, Clifford has been given to Scottish babies for decades, and it shares its first element with the surname Clifford, borne by a prominent English baronial family who held lands in the Scottish borders.