Ratcliffe
A surname usually from a place-name meaning “red cliff” or “red bank,” though some Irish and Welsh explanations were also proposed historically.
The #7,674 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,353 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ratcliffe is a locational surname taken from one of several English places called Ratcliffe, Radcliffe, or similar. The most likely root is Old English words for “red” and “cliff” or “bank,” referring to a reddish slope or escarpment. Older writers also suggested Irish or Welsh explanations for some families, but the English place-name origin is generally the strongest.
History
The name appears in medieval and early modern records in several parts of England, especially Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and other counties with Ratcliffe place-names. It also spread into Ireland and the Isle of Man, where the spelling varies, including Ratcliff, Ratclift, and Ratliffe. Historical spellings show that the name was unstable for centuries before modern standardization.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In old records the surname could swing through several spellings within the same family line, making Ratcliffe one of those names genealogists often have to track creatively.
From the historical record
“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 + bdn, white].…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)