CLEAVER
Cleaver is a surname of English origin, broadly situated within the British Isles, with its earliest attestations located in England. The name is characteristically occupational in nature, a feature common to many English surnames.
In Middle English the word clevere denoted a cleaver or a butcher’s knife. The surname was thus originally assigned to individuals who worked as butchers or who regularly employed a cleaver in their trade. It has also been recorded as a nickname for persons whose temperament was described as forceful or strong.
Two alternative derivations of the surname occur in the historical record. One links it to an official title for a mace‑bearer; the mace, or staff, was an instrument of authority carried before magistrates. Early entries of the name appear in Norfolk, and in 1332 Walter le Claver is recorded as the rector of All Saints, Norwich. The second derivation understands Cleaver as an occupational name for a carpenter or timber‑worker who split boards and planks with wedges rather than saws. This sense of the name stems from the Old English verb cleofan, meaning to split or cut.
A parish register entry from 1652 records the baptism of John son of Samuell Cleaver at St. James Church, Clerkenwell, London, illustrating the continued use of the name beyond the medieval period.
The coat of arms most commonly associated with the Cleaver family is blazoned as follows: a black field bearing two gold bars between three silver towers, with a crest depicting a gold lion’s gamb couped grasping a black key.
The earliest surviving spelling of the family name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, dated 1273, where it is transcribed as Simon le Claver. This document falls within the reign of King Edward I, who reigned from 1272 to 1307.
Typical given names associated with the Cleaver surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Jane
- Jennifer
- Julie
- Karen
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Claver
- Clover
- Clever
- Cliver
- Clave
- Cleave
- Calvaire
- Calvar
- Calver
- Claveria
- Claverie
- Claverin
- Clavering
- Claverley
- Claverly
- Clavern
- Clavero
- Clavert
- Clavery
- Clavier
- Cleaverley
- Cleaverly
- Cleavers
- Cleavery
- Cleaves
- Cleever
- Cleiver
- Cleve
- Cleverby
- Cleverdon
- Cleverley
- Cleverly
- Clevers
- Cleversley
- Cleverson
- Cleverton
- Clevery
- Clewver
- Cliffer
- Clivers
- Cluver
- Colfar
- Colfer
- Colfor
- Coliver
- Colliver
- Collver
- Colover
- Colver
- Culfear
- Culliver
- Culver
- Galepher
- Galiver
- Gallapher
- Galliver
- Gallivor
- Galver
- Glaipher
- Glaver
- Gleaver
- Glever
- Gliver
- Glover
- Glovier
- Gluver
- Golifer
- Gollifer
- Golver
- Guilliver
- Gulefer
- Guliver
- Gullefer
- Gullifer
- Gullifor
- Gullivar
- Gulliver
- Gulver
- Kailofer
- Kalver
- Kelfer
- Kelver
- Kilver
- Klaver
- Klever
- Kluever
- Kluver
- Kluyver
- Kolaveri
- Kolver
- Kulvear
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Cleaver in...
Braille
⠉⠇⠑⠁⠧⠑⠗
Morse
-.-..-....-...-..-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 5,222 people named Cleaver in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,815th most common surname in Britain. Around 80 in a million people in Britain are named Cleaver.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Cleaver
- Sue Cleaver - Actress
- Alice Cleaver - Nanny (1889 to 1984)
- Gordon Cleaver - WW2 British flying ace (1910 to 1994)
- Chris Cleaver - Football player
- Billy Cleaver - Welsh rugby union player (1921 to 2003)
- Leonard Cleaver - Politician (1909 to 1993)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.