Clift Surname

46,241st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 11,213 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Isle of Man

Clift 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

Clift Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5,7271:63,2897,410
England2,9581:18,8362,700
Australia1,5801:17,0862,398
Canada3271:112,67812,031
South Africa1321:410,43735,867
Wales1241:24,9562,614
Scotland1031:51,9794,440
New Zealand641:70,75510,593
Chile411:429,67011,433
Mexico291:4,280,21427,059
Northern Ireland141:131,7887,342
Germany101:8,050,546248,660
Isle of Man101:8,5821,778
Denmark91:627,19136,734
Afghanistan81:4,019,14821,487
United Arab Emirates81:1,145,28440,289
Thailand81:8,829,793476,604
Israel81:1,069,70462,476
France51:13,284,544357,392
Hong Kong51:1,467,0975,611
Ireland41:1,177,23516,494
Spain41:11,688,009116,470
Botswana41:546,73222,624
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
China21:683,660,78330,601
Grenada21:54,2681,538
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
Egypt11:91,935,754132,737
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Algeria11:38,631,551130,422
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Benin11:10,335,602103,742
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,5711:15,5162,292
Wales361:43,5672,298
Scotland171:220,1897,953
Jersey121:4,324761
Isle of Man11:54,2692,077
Guernsey11:32,6562,283
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,2781:39,2954,640

Clift (441) may also be a first name.

Clift 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

(Scandinavian) Dweller at a Cleft (in a Rock, &c.) [Middle English clift(e, Old Norse kluft] Ye lovers two, if that I shal nat lye, Ye founden first this litel narwe clifte.— Chaucer, Legende of Good Women, 743-4.

That houses forme within was rude and strong, Like an huge cave, hewne out ot rocky clifte.—Spenser, The Faery Queene, II. vii. 28. There has thus been confusion with Cliff(e, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

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

From the Danish, Klifoth; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Clift Last Name Facts

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

The last name Clift is more commonly found in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also appear in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Clift? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 46,241st most frequently held last name globally, borne by approximately 1 in 649,919 people. It occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 49 percent of Clift are found; 48 percent are found in North America and 48 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Clift is also the 408,221st most widespread forename throughout the world, held by 441 people.

The last name Clift is most widespread in The United States, where it is held by 5,727 people, or 1 in 63,289. In The United States Clift is mostly found in: Texas, where 10 percent are found, Tennessee, where 6 percent are found and Oklahoma, where 6 percent are found. Not including The United States this surname is found in 44 countries. It also occurs in England, where 26 percent are found and Australia, where 14 percent are found.

Clift Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Clift has changed through the years. In The United States the share of the population with the last name increased 448 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 188 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 344 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it increased 606 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Clift Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Clift last name are 17.71% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 64.48% being registered to vote for the party.

The amount Clift earn in different countries varies somewhat. In South Africa they earn 4.37% less than the national average, earning R 227,256 per year; in United States they earn 0.31% less than the national average, earning $43,014 USD per year and in Canada they earn 10.05% more than the national average, earning $54,675 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Clifft91747/
Clifte911/
Clif8964/
Schlift830/
Cliff8011,335/
Clief8029/
Klift8028/
Cleft809/
Clife807/
Cleif800/
Cliffe735,518/
Cleife73104/
Clieff7321/
Cleiff7310/
Cliffs739/
Clefft731/
Cillif731/
Clliff731/
Klieft731/
Cluife731/
Clef67224/
Klif6726/
Schleft679/
Clib673/
Cliv672/
Clyf671/
Qlif671/
Clifffe671/
Chlaiwt671/
Chellif671/
Jellift670/

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Clift Reference & Research

Clifton DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Clifton FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Clift
  • 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