Ratcliff
A surname usually taken from a place-name meaning “red cliff.”
The #3,409 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,413 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ratcliff is a spelling variant of Radcliffe, a habitational surname from places called with Old English rēad, meaning “red,” and clif, meaning “cliff” or “slope.” The literal sense is “red cliff.” Some older writers also wondered about other explanations, but the place-name derivation is the standard one. The surname could also have spread from several different localities with the same name.
History
The name appears in several English counties and is especially associated with northern and midland place-names. Historical spellings vary widely, including Radcliffe, Ratcliffe, Ratcliff, and Ratclift. In Manx records, Moore notes Ratcliffe and related forms as established surnames from an early period, reflecting migration from England into the Isle of Man.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older local pronunciation, the spelling often drifted toward “Rat-” even when the place-name ultimately came from “red cliff.”
From the historical record
“a roe] RATCLIFF 1 RATCLIFFE Uor Racloliff(e, q.v. RATLIFFE J RATHBONE"! found in i4th-cent. Cheshire RATHBUN, i Tecoids as' Rathebon, does not seem to be English, If the original bearers of the name came from Ireland it answers to the Irish Rathbane, Rathbaun = 'White Fort' [Ir. rath, a fort ; also palace”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)