Clough
Usually a topographic surname for someone who lived by a steep ravine or glen.
The #3,789 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,060 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Clough comes from a northern English word meaning a ravine, steep valley, or deep hollow between hills. The term is related to northern dialect forms such as cloff in Scotland and was used as a place description rather than a personal nickname. In surname use, it most often identified someone who lived near such a feature.
History
The name appears in medieval and later records both as a standalone surname and in local place-names such as Claughton and similar forms built around the same landscape word. Some 19th-century writers speculated about Norman or other origins for particular families bearing the name, but the usual explanation is plainly English and topographic. Variant spellings and related forms include Clow, Clowe, and Clowes, which some writers treated as connected developments.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley noted that Clough and Clow/Clowe were seen as related surname forms, much as some other English surnames shifted vowel endings over time.
From the historical record
“corruption of Mac Leod. CLOUGH. A ravine, glen, or deep descent between hills. N. of Eng. Cloff, Scotl. The Cloughs of Plas-Clough claim a Norman origin, from the Seigneurs de Eohan, and appeal to their name and arms for proof. B.L.G. To my e)'e, both arms and name are as English as need be. CLOUTER. Clut, A-Sax.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom