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Cleva
Pronounced KLEE-vuh /ˈkliːvə/Medium
Meaning: Cleva reads as a feminine coinage built on Cleve or Cleveland, an English surname and place name from Old English clif, 'cliff', so 'the cliff land'. It may also draw on the sound of 'clever'. American families used it quietly around the turn of the twentieth century; its exact source is uncertain, so the meaning is held cautiously.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Cleva is best read as a feminine coinage on Cleve or Cleveland, from the Old English clif, 'cliff'. The likeness to 'clever' may have helped its appeal. American families used it quietly in the early twentieth century, though its precise route is undocumented.
It was never common, a couple dozen girls a year at most around the nineteen-teens, and it faded by mid-century. A girl given it then would be a great-grandmother now, and it reads as an old coinage rather than a current name.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Cleva mean?
It's a feminine coinage, most likely from Cleve or Cleveland, an Old English 'cliff land'; the route is uncertain.
How do you pronounce Cleva?
It's said KLEE-vuh /ˈkliːvə/, two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Cleva a boy or girl name?
Cleva is used as a girl's name.
Is Cleva a popular name?
No, it was always rare, an old coinage seen only slightly in the early twentieth century.