First name origins & meanings:
- German: Adhere; mortal
- German: Adhere
First name variations: Clayland, Clayton, Klay, Klayton Last name origins & meanings:
- English: from Old English clǣg ‘clay’, applied as a
topographic name for someone who lived in an area of clay soil or as a
metonymic occupational name for a worker in a clay pit (see
Clayman).
- Americanized spelling of German
Klee.
- The relatively common English name Clay had several American
forebears in the 18th century. Henry Clay, born in Hanover, VA, in
1777, secretary of state for President John Quincy Adams, was
descended from English ancestors who came to VA shortly after the
founding of Jamestown. The revolutionary war officer Joseph Clay, also
a member of the Continental Congress, was a native of Yorkshire,
England, who emigrated to GA in 1760 and was a founder of the
University of Georgia.
Famous people who gave their babies this name:
Annie Potts
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