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Clinton

Boy name · 12 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Clinton: 12 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 3 births in 1975.

Clinton began as a habitational surname from English place names, itself derived from Old English *clif-tūn* meaning “settlement on a cliff.” The most famous bearer is Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, whose mother chose the surname in honour of his biological father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr.—a more pragmatic than romantic origin. DeWitt Clinton, a New York governor and senator who championed the Erie Canal, also lent the name political weight, and many American towns bear the name Clintons’ beginnings. The name has never been especially popular in Scotland, but it experienced a modest blip of a few registrations during the 1990s, evidently courtesy of the president’s global profile. A less expected note: Hillary is a full first name, not simply his wife’s—Clinton’s own middle name is Jefferson.