Clifton
A locational surname meaning someone from a steep settlement or cliff-side farm.
The #1,439 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,471 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Clifton is a place-name surname from English places called Clifton, built from Old English elements meaning “cliff” or steep slope and “farmstead” or “settlement.” In literal terms, it means “the settlement by the cliff” or “the cliff-side farm.” The surname was first used to identify people who came from one of these places.
History
The name is well established in England and appears early in medieval records attached to landholding families. Historical sources cited by nineteenth-century surname writers connect the Cliftons of Lancashire and Nottinghamshire with long-standing local estates. Because Clifton is a common English place-name, the surname could arise independently in more than one county.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several English villages and parishes are called Clifton, which is why the surname can have multiple separate local origins.
From the historical record
“CLIFTON 187 OLOXJB JoliAnii«s de Cljfibrd, 1379: P. T. Yoriu. p. i^”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)