Cleff Surname

645,032nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 470 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Germany
Highest density in:
Germany

Cleff Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the cliff,' a precipitous rock, a headland. Middle English clif, clef; v. Clive.

Robert de la Clif, Yorkshire 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Thomas del Clif, Suffolk, ibid.

Johannes del Clife, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Read More About This Surname

Cleff Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Germany2501:322,02232,234
United States1281:2,831,710167,846
Brazil641:3,344,91195,290
Ghana91:3,002,29911,581
Kenya51:9,235,98055,978
Nigeria51:35,428,552388,973
Denmark21:2,822,35876,882
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
England11:55,718,059489,080
France11:66,422,722504,397
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England141:1,741,09855,534
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States41:12,554,671503,821

Cleff (138) may also be a first name.

Cleff Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the cliff,' a precipitous rock, a headland. Middle English clif, clef; v. Clive.

Robert de la Clif, Yorkshire 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Thomas del Clif, Suffolk, ibid.

Johannes del Clife, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Thomas del Clyf, 1379: ibid.

1566. Baptised — Richard, s. Robert Cliffe: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1639. John Cary and Judith Cliffe: Marriage Lic (London).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Parishes, &c., in cos. Kent, York, Sussex, Northampton, and Wilts.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local. A steep bank, a precipice; a town in Northamptonshire, England.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Cleff Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Cleff Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Cleff has its highest incidence in Germany. It may also be found as:. Click here for other potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Cleff? popularity and diffusion

Cleff is the 645,032nd most frequently held last name internationally. It is borne by around 1 in 15,505,417 people. Cleff occurs mostly in Europe, where 54 percent of Cleff reside; 53 percent reside in Western Europe and 53 percent reside in Germanic Europe. Cleff is also the 787,636th most widely held first name at a global level. It is borne by 138 people.

This surname is most widespread in Germany, where it is carried by 250 people, or 1 in 322,022. In Germany it is most numerous in: North Rhine-Westphalia, where 69 percent live, Bavaria, where 13 percent live and Baden-Württemberg, where 6 percent live. Other than Germany it occurs in 13 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 27 percent live and Brazil, where 14 percent live.

Cleff Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Cleff has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Cleff last name grew 3,200 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it contracted 93 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Cleff Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Cleff surname are 18.61% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 65.38% being registered with the party.

Cleff earn notably more than the average income. In United States they earn 15.53% more than the national average, earning $49,850 USD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Cleffs9144/
Clieff9121/
Cleeff9116/
Cleffe9112/
Cleiff9110/
Chleff914/
Clefft911/
Clef89224/
Clff891/
Schleff8333/
Caileff8315/
Cayleff836/
Cliff8011,335/
Kleff80868/
Cleef80427/
Chlef8094/
Clepf8054/
Clief8029/
Cleaf8013/
Cleft809/
Clefe805/
Clyff804/
Cilff802/
Sleff802/
Clefs801/
Clefh801/
Cleuf801/
Cleif800/
Sclef800/
Schleiff77281/
Schlieff7792/
Schleeff7712/
Clf7513/
Cliffe735,518/
Clifft73747/
Cleife73104/
Schlef73100/
Slieff7373/
Kleffe7341/
Kleyff7335/
Kleeff7324/
Klieff7312/
Cliffs739/
Kleiff736/
Cllfft731/
Kleffs731/
Clliff731/
Cloyff731/
Clefss731/
Shleff731/
Sleiff731/
Sleffe731/
Cleafe731/
Schleif672,036/
Schleef671,646/
Schlief671,288/
Jelleff67144/
Clew67135/
Clev6772/
Clif6764/
Schliff6762/
Cleb6741/
Klef6729/
Schlehf6722/
Schleft679/
Slef678/
Chellef672/
Celf672/
Schleaf672/
Schlefe671/
Qclf671/
Shleiff671/
Chlaiff671/
Gelleff671/
Clfp671/
Jlef671/
Jlff671/
Chlf671/
Clyf671/
Clpf671/
Cllf671/
Clhf671/
Clfz671/
Clfh671/
Zlef671/
Slff671/
Kclf671/
Zlff671/
Clifffe671/
Kelleff670/
Sleiffe670/
Sleeffe670/
Gilleff670/
Schleuf670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Cleff
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis