# Clay (name)

Clay is both an English surname, a masculine given name, often short for Clayton, and a nickname.

## Surname
### Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 76.1% of all known bearers of the surname Clay were residents of the United States (frequency 1:5,846), 12.5% of England (1:5,460), 2.7% of Australia (1:10,816), 1.4% of Canada (1:31,264) and 1.2% of France (1:69,714).
In England, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:5,460) in the following counties:
* 1. Nottinghamshire (1:1,287)
* 2. Derbyshire (1:2,238)
* 3. Lincolnshire (1:2,318)
* 4. Staffordshire (1:2,357)
* 5. Leicestershire (1:2,705)
* 6. Warwickshire (1:2,752)
* 7. West Yorkshire (1:2,838)
* 8. Herefordshire (1:2,856)
* 9. South Yorkshire (1:3,014)
* 10. Shropshire (1:3,271)
* 11. North Yorkshire (1:4,378)
* 12. Cornwall (1:4,867)
* 13. Hertfordshire (1:5,093)
* 14. Cambridgeshire (1:5,301)
In the United States, the frequency of the surname was higher than average (1:5,846) in the following states:
* 1. West Virginia (1:1,501)
* 2. Mississippi (1:1,690)
* 3. Georgia (1:2,391)
* 4. Arkansas (1:2,794)
* 5. Alabama (1:2,876)
* 6. Missouri (1:3,086)
* 7. Kentucky (1:3,223)
* 8. Louisiana (1:3,418)
* 9. Oklahoma (1:3,507)
* 10. Tennessee (1:3,769)
* 11. Ohio (1:4,169)
* 12. Virginia (1:4,296)
* 13. Texas (1:4,473)
* 14. North Carolina (1:4,705)
* 15. Illinois (1:5,138)
* 16. Michigan (1:5,431)
* 17. Maryland (1:5,696)
* 18. Indiana (1:5,723)

### People with the surname

* Adam Clay (disambiguation), several people
* Alfred Borron Clay (1831–1868), British artist
* Allyson Clay (born 1953), Canadian artist
* Bryan Clay (born 1980), American gold medalist in the decathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
* Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay, 1942–2016), American boxer
* Cassius Marcellus Clay (politician) (1810–1903), American politician, abolitionist
* Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. (1912–1990), American painter and musician and father of Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
* Charles Clay (disambiguation), several people
* Craig Clay (born 1992), English footballer
* Edward Clay (born 1945), British diplomat
* Edward Sneyd Clay (c. 1768 – 1846), British naval officer
* Eric Clay (1922–2007), British rugby league referee
* Ethel Clay (1874–1943), American nurse and socialite
* Frederic Clay (1838–1889), British composer
* Frederick William Clay (1927–1983), known as Freddie, Indigenous Australian activist on Palm Island, Queensland (husband of Iris)
* Grady Clay (1916–2013), American journalist
* Henry Clay (disambiguation), multiple people
** Henry Clay (1777–1852), American statesman and orator
* Iris Clay (1936–1979), Indigenous Australian activist on Palm Island, Queensland (wife of Fred)
* James Clay (disambiguation), several people
* John Clay (disambiguation), several people
* Kaelin Clay (born 1992), American football player
* Lacy Clay (born 1956), U.S. House Representative
* Lauren Clay (born 1982), American artist
* Lucius D. Clay (1897–1978), American general and military governor
* Otis Clay (1942–2016), American R&B and soul singer
* Philippe Clay (1927–2007), French singer
* Raven Clay (born 1990), American hurdler
* Rosa Clay (1875–1959), a Namibian-born Finnish American teacher, singer and choral conductor
* Rudy Clay (politician) (1936–2013), American politician
* Rudolph Valentino Clay (born 1943), rechristened from Rudolph Arnett at birth, given name of American boxer Rahaman Ali, brother of Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
* Sam Clay (born 1993), American baseball player
* Wendy Arlene Clay, Canadian surgeon general

## People with the given name

* Clay Aiken (born 1978), American popular music singer
* Clay Buchholz (born 1984), Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
* Clay Calvert American lawyer and academic
* Clay Martin Croker (1962–2016), American voice actor and animator
* Clay Dalrymple (born 1936), former American professional baseball player
* Clay Dreslough, American video game designer
* Clay Guida (born 1981), American mixed martial artist
* Clay Hensley (born 1979), American baseball player
* Clay Higgins (born 1961), American politician
* Clay Jenkins (born 1964), American politician and lawyer
* Clay S. Jenkinson (born 1955), American Rhodes Scholar and popular historical re-enactor
* Clay Johnston (academic), American neurologist and university administrator
* Clay Johnston (American football) (born 1996), American football player
* Clay Kaytis (born 1973), American animator and director
* Clay Matthews Sr. (1928–2017), American football player
* Clay Matthews Jr. (born 1956), American football player, son of the above
* Clay Matthews III (born 1986), American football player, son of the above
* Clay Riley, American politician
* Clay Milner Russell (born 1999), English actor
* Clay V. Spear (c. 1914 – 1974), associate justice of the Idaho Supreme Court
* Clay Sweeting, Bahamian politician
* Clay Travis (born 1979), American sports journalist
* Clay Walker (born 1969), American country music singer
* Clay Webb, American football player
* Clay (born 1999), pseudonym Dream, American YouTuber and Minecraft gamer

## People with the nickname

* Clay Cook (born 1978), American guitarist, keyboardist, mandolinist, steel guitarist, and vocalist in Zac Brown Band
* Clay Regazzoni (1939–2006), Swiss racing car driver

## Fictional characters

* Clay, the first host of Playhouse Disney
* Clay (Pokémon), in the Pokémon universe
* Clay Bailey, in the American animated television series Xiaolin Showdown
* Clay Calloway, from the film Sing 2
* Clay Davis, in American TV series The Wire
* Clay Jensen, in the novel and Netflix series 13 Reasons Why
* Clay Kaczmarek, from the Assassin's Creed games
* Clay Moorington, a character in Nexo Knights
* Clay Morrow, from American TV series Sons of Anarchy
* Clay Puppington, the main antagonist of the American TV series Moral Orel
* Clay Simons, in the game Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned
* Clay Terran, from the game series Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
* Caduceus Clay, from the American web series Critical Role
* Faceas Clay, an antagonist from the Strider Hiryu manga and NES game
* Clay, a villager from the Nintendo Switch game “Animal Crossing”