Rails 2
If you are still on rails 2 you will need to use:
Client.select('distinct(name)')
Rails 3
If you are on Rails 3 you will need to use:
Client.select(:name).uniq
If you look at the equivalent section of the rails 3 guide you can see the difference between the two versions.
Rails 4+
The .distinct option was added for rails 4 which is what the latest guides refer to.
Client.select(:name).distinct