Clay (name)

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

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, 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 (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

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 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 (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