The name Clayt, a short form for Clayton, was one of the top debut names of the year in 1967. It remained in the U.S. baby name data for just one more year before dropping back below the SSA’s 5-baby threshold.
- 1969: unlisted
- 1968: 7 baby boys named Clayt
- 1967: 13 baby boys named Clayt [debut]
- 1966: unlisted
- 1965: unlisted
Where did it come from?
A character in a single-season Western called The Monroes, which aired on TV from September of 1966 to August of 1967.
Clayt Monroe (played by Michael Anderson, Jr.) was the oldest of the five orphaned children journeying west from Illinois to Wyoming Territory in the 1870s. After the Monroe parents died in the first episode (they were swept away while crossing a river), 18-year-old Clayt led his siblings onward, toward the land their father had staked out the decade before (a “valley Pa had marked with a pile of rocks”).
Clayt’s younger siblings were named Kathy, Jefferson and Fennimore (twins), and Amy.
What do you think of the name Clayt? Do you think it works well as a standalone name?
Source: CTVA Western – “The Monroes” (1966-67), SSA
Image: Screenshot of The Monroes