Cleve Surname

195,234th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,150 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Germany
Highest density in:
Germany

Cleve Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the clive.' The same as Cliff (which see); Middle English cleve = cliff.

John atte Cliue (u for v), Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Gilbert de la Clive, Devon, 1273.

Read More About This Surname

Cleve Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Germany1,0001:80,50510,168
United States5141:705,17355,723
Sweden1221:80,7115,995
Canada871:423,51337,101
Philippines661:1,533,912105,821
Israel551:155,59316,202
Australia461:586,86342,409
Belgium401:287,41633,962
France391:1,703,147154,208
Norway331:155,82719,235
England301:1,857,26974,552
Finland271:203,58217,121
Brazil231:9,307,580200,052
Argentina191:2,249,653107,269
Denmark181:313,59522,770
Netherlands91:1,876,35385,467
Hungary81:1,227,03553,030
Venezuela41:7,551,01953,668
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Kenya21:23,089,95083,168
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Gabon11:1,889,1946,814
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England231:1,059,79941,508
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1121:448,38132,409

The alternate forms: Clève (13) & Clevé (2) are calculated separately.

Cleve (7,227) may also be a first name.

Cleve Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the clive.' The same as Cliff (which see); Middle English cleve = cliff.

John atte Cliue (u for v), Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Gilbert de la Clive, Devon, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Humfrey de la Clive, Wiltshire, ibid.

Henry de la Clyve, Somerset, ibid.

William atte Clive, 1301. Writs of Parliament.

Agnes del Clife, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

John Clyffe, or Clyve, 1510: Register of the University of Oxford.

Richard Clyve, abbot of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, 1482: Atkyns' History Gloucestershire.

1639. Richard Clive and Mary Alleyne: Marriage Lic. (London).

1690. Alexander Cleeve and Mary Dufneld: ibid.

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

From (Mac)cleave, 1684.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) Dweller at the Cliff or Rock [Middle English cleve, clive, Old English clif, a cliff, rock]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) Dweller at the cliff or rock or steep descent, or at the bank of a river.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Parishes in cos. Gloucester, Somerset, and Worcester.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

User-submitted Reference

This surname means 'cliff'. It originates from the town Kleve (Cleve, Cleves), North Rhein-Westphalia, Germany, or from a small harbour in southern Norway.

- jackh

Cleve Last Name Facts

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

The last name Cleve occurs most in Germany. It can appear as: Clève or Clevé. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Cleve? popularity and diffusion

Cleve is the 195,234th most commonly occurring last name globally, borne by around 1 in 3,389,556 people. The surname occurs mostly in Europe, where 62 percent of Cleve reside; 51 percent reside in Western Europe and 48 percent reside in Germanic Europe. It is also the 76,017th most frequently used first name internationally It is held by 7,227 people.

This last name is most commonly held in Germany, where it is borne by 1,000 people, or 1 in 80,505. In Germany Cleve is primarily concentrated in: North Rhine-Westphalia, where 53 percent live, Lower Saxony, where 15 percent live and Saxony-Anhalt, where 7 percent live. Besides Germany this last name exists in 25 countries. It is also found in The United States, where 24 percent live and Sweden, where 6 percent live.

Cleve Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Cleve has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Cleve surname expanded 459 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it expanded 130 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Cleve Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Cleve surname are 10.23% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 57% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Cleve earn in different countries varies somewhat. In Norway they earn 15.08% more than the national average, earning 398,269 kr per year; in United States they earn 0.69% more than the national average, earning $43,446 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.15% more than the national average, earning $51,248 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Clève9313/
Clevé932/
Clever917,836/
Cleave912,404/
Cleves912,274/
Cleeve91929/
Clevez9199/
Clevet9114/
Cleive913/
Cleved913/
Scleve912/
Cleveh911/
Cleyve911/
Chleve911/
Clevey910/
Clevee910/
Cleaver8315,003/
Cleaves833,288/
Cleeves83421/
Clevett83317/
Schleve83102/
Cleever8330/
Cleavey835/
Cleaved833/
Cleiver832/
Clesver832/
Cleveas831/
Cleverr830/
Cleavet830/
Chleves830/
Cleveis830/
Clive802,446/
Kleve801,556/
Clevy80300/
Cilve8090/
Clewe8064/
Clebe8048/
Sleve8045/
Clyve8013/
Celve805/
Clver805/
Clves801/
Clevi801/
Cluee800/
Schlieve77254/
Schleeve7727/
Cleavest7714/
Schleive771/
Schlever771/
Cleiveis771/
Cleiverr771/
Schlevey770/
Schlevet770/
Clewes731,504/
Cliver73792/
Cleber73410/
Clivet73276/
Klieve73215/
Kleive73186/
Clevis73105/
Chilve7365/
Sleive7346/
Cliveţ7341/
Clives7333/
Sleeve7320/
Sleave7318/
Clempe7312/
Clevio739/
Cleibe738/
Klevge737/
Chelve735/
Klevje735/
Cleavy734/
Slevey734/
Claive734/
Clebes734/
Kyleve734/
Cliveț734/
Clèves734/
Shleve733/
Slever733/
Cleava732/
Kleeve732/
Clayve732/
Clvett732/
Cléver732/
Celvey731/
Cleivy731/
Cleyva731/
Cléves731/
Cleabe731/
Cleivi731/
Cleebe731/
Cleevy730/
Slieve730/
Clivey730/
Clewet730/
Schleveis7114/
Schleveth711/
Klevets671,707/
Clue67900/
Kleeves67106/
Clisbee6774/
Schlive6741/
Sleaver6733/
Klevecz6730/
Clevish6730/
Clva6729/
Sletved6728/
Schlebe6723/
Sleiver6716/
Sleever6715/
Cleiber6710/
Sleeves679/
Clvi676/
Chelvee676/
Chilvee673/
Khleive672/
Slve672/
Cleabes672/
Clwe672/
Chelvey672/
Clbe672/
Jlve672/
Clyveer672/
Jleaver671/
Djleive671/
Ckelvey671/
Clevist671/
Schlewe671/
Schlver671/
Selleve671/
Chlibee671/
Keeleve671/
Chellve671/
Jelleve671/
Clevitt671/
Cleyber671/
Cleivis671/
Clvj671/
Cleavis670/
Kleives670/
Clesbee670/
Chlevis670/
Silleve670/
Cuilver670/
Cleweis670/
Cleaber670/
Cloybee670/

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 Cleve
  • 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