Cliffe Surname

87,211th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 5,518 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Isle of Man

Cliffe 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

Cliffe Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England3,3101:16,8332,438
United States6781:534,60044,420
Canada4501:81,8799,127
Australia4261:63,3707,610
Ireland1841:25,5922,412
New Zealand1441:31,4475,459
Scotland951:56,3564,696
Wales771:40,1893,923
Northern Ireland201:92,2525,957
South Africa171:3,186,924115,449
Guyana151:50,8154,586
Argentina121:3,561,951138,643
Nigeria111:16,103,887259,204
Isle of Man101:8,5821,778
Venezuela81:3,775,51036,567
India61:127,844,230863,365
Thailand51:14,127,669603,945
Norway51:1,028,45761,363
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Switzerland41:2,053,22997,179
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Japan41:31,961,07353,820
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
France31:22,140,907385,998
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Czechia21:5,316,734169,646
Ecuador21:7,952,92334,269
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Micronesia11:106,2431,380
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Bosnia and Herzegovina11:3,536,40219,532
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland261:170,3798,688
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,8661:13,0631,974
Wales101:156,8426,008
Scotland51:748,64318,576
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States871:577,22639,167

Cliffe (483) may also be a first name.

Cliffe 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

(English) Dweller at a Steep Rock [Old English clif]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) Dweller near a steep descent or slope, or a steep rock.

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

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

Cliffe Last Name Facts

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

Cliffe is found in England more than any other country or territory. It can be found as a variant:. For other potential spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Cliffe? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 87,211th most commonly occurring last name internationally, held by around 1 in 1,320,686 people. The last name is predominantly found in Europe, where 67 percent of Cliffe live; 67 percent live in Northern Europe and 67 percent live in British Isles. It is also the 386,824th most frequently used first name globally, held by 483 people.

The last name Cliffe is most numerous in England, where it is borne by 3,310 people, or 1 in 16,833. In England Cliffe is primarily found in: Cheshire, where 14 percent live, Staffordshire, where 11 percent live and West Yorkshire, where 9 percent live. Other than England this last name exists in 42 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 12 percent live and Canada, where 8 percent live.

Cliffe Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Cliffe has changed over time. In England the number of people bearing the Cliffe surname increased 177 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it increased 779 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Ireland it increased 708 percent between 1901 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 1,900 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 770 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Cliffe Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the Cliffe last name is principally Catholic (65%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Cliffe last name are 19.36% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 66.13% being registered with the political party.

The amount Cliffe earn in different countries varies somewhat. In South Africa they earn 3.75% less than the national average, earning R 228,720 per year; in United States they earn 9.8% more than the national average, earning $47,379 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.3% more than the national average, earning $49,833 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Cliffer9220/
Cliffes921/
Clifffe921/
Cliffee920/
Cliffey920/
Cliff9111,335/
Clife917/
Clifft83747/
Sliffe83127/
Cleife83104/
Clieff8321/
Cliffy8321/
Cleffe8312/
Cleiff8310/
Cliffs839/
Cliffi832/
Cluife831/
Kliffe831/
Cliefe831/
Clliff831/
Jliffe830/
Claffe830/
Clifer830/
Sclife830/
Schliffer8067/
Clif8064/
Chilliffe800/
Claffey772,888/
Claffee7763/
Schlife7763/
Cleffie7717/
Sliffer772/
Kliaffe772/
Chlifer771/
Jlliffe771/
Cleifer771/
Cleffer771/
Cleffes771/
Clipfer770/
Sliffey770/
Sleiffe770/
Cleffey770/
Schleiffer75635/
Schlaiffer751/
Schliffest750/
Clift7311,213/
Slife73770/
Cleff73470/
Kliff73109/
Clief7329/
Clefe735/
Clyff734/
Klife733/
Clyfe731/
Cleif730/
Jelliffe71258/
Schleife71138/
Schlifer71104/
Sleiffer7176/
Slaiffer7119/
Chleifer7113/
Chlaifer715/
Chleffer712/
Claifetz711/
Cliffoid711/
Gilliffe710/
Schlifes710/
Jilliffe710/
Cloipfer710/
Gelliffe710/
Slifer671,662/
Cleffi67232/
Schläffer6792/
Schluifer6756/
Cleffs6744/
Kleffe6741/
Schleffer6731/
Khlife6724/
Cleeff6716/
Klieff6712/
Sliffy677/
Kleiff676/
Cloefe675/
Schloifer674/
Clafee673/
Clifit673/
Klifei672/
Kleife672/
Clafey671/
Clefft671/
Cloufe671/
Schleiffa671/
Sleffe671/
Slifep671/
Cloyff671/
Klaiff671/
Slaife671/
Cliofé671/
Shlaiffer671/
Chlifi671/
Cliphe671/
Cleafe671/
Cleifi671/
Clefee671/
Cillif671/
Clifis671/
Kliffi671/
Kloiff671/
Khliff671/
Slifes670/
Jelliffer670/

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 Cliffe
  • 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