The Clifford surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 22,245 people carried this name — #1,618 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,300 people counted. That is up 1% from 21,974 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Clifford surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Old English clif (“cliff”) + ford (“ford”), a dweller at the ford by the steep bank.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Clifford» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Clifford’.

An early record he cites: Johannes de Clyfford, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 186 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 83 births for the Clifford name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 3,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “45 in Kerry.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 58
Leinster 10
Ulster 9
Connacht 6

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 53 people named Clifford live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Santa Fe.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Santa Fe 23
Buenos Aires Province 20
Córdoba 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

41 people named Clifford live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 11
Aargau 10
Zurich 9
Bern 7
Solothurn 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

155 people named Clifford are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 128
Finland (2026) 27

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Clifford was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Kent: 15 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 667. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Kent 15
Gloucestershire 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Clifford was recorded 20 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1147th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 21. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

76 families named Clifford, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 431 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 34
Maine 10
Pennsylvania 9
Massachusetts 7
Connecticut 4
North Carolina 4
Vermont 2
Rhode Island 2
Maryland 2
Virginia 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 234 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Clifford in American newspapers,
1879–1900.

Newspaper page from The Age-herald carrying the name Clifford
The Age-herald 1900-08-05
Newspaper page from Washington Standard carrying the name Clifford
Washington Standard 1879-02-01
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Clifford
The Portland Daily Press 1893-09-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,777 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Clifford in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

122,216 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Clifford. The most, 26,744, date from the 1910s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 40,796
Victoria 27,676
Queensland 20,930
South Australia 17,108
Western Australia 8,641
Tasmania 5,331
ACT (Canberra) 896
Northern Territory 81

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Clifford.

Who carried it

People named Clifford,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Henry Clifford d. 1577 · politician
  • Nicholas Clifford d. 1595 · politician
  • Robert Clifford d. 1906 · photographer
  • Tom Clifford d. 2005 · politician
  • Anne Clifford d. 1656
  • Thomas Clifford d. 1520

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Clifford,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States5,394 records

5,394 records of the Clifford name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,659
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1,481
  • Other U.S. records 2,254
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William Henry Clifford

    Born 1946; from Tucson, Arizona. U.S. Army, infantry unit commander; killed in action 1970 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Donald R. Clifford

    Born 1919 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Devens; aircraft worker from Hampden County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget Clifford

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Bothnia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 21; servant. From Kerry, Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 5,394 records for Clifford in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,309 records

2,309 records of the Clifford name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,003
  • Tasmanian Names Index 484
  • Other Australian records 822
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Clifford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cape Packet ex Waterloo, sailing from Sheerness & Cape of Good Hope in 1842. Native of Streatham, Surrey. Married 1848 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, aged 26.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Barron Rutherford Clifford

    Married 1912 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 30. Died 1933 in Tasmania, aged 52.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Mary Sheila Clifford

    Gentlewoman of Macleod, Victoria; died 1992.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,309 records for Clifford in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands247 records

247 records of the Clifford name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 121
  • Dutch population registers 113
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 13
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johan Pieter Clifford

    Married in 1906 in Haarlem; railway official. Died 1943 in Amersfoort, aged 65.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Gerard George Clifford

    Married in 1834 in Amsterdam; of private means. Died 1847 in Arnhem, aged 68.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Jacoba Henrietta Marianna Clifford

    Born 1868 in Loenen. Died 1927 in Loenen, aged 59.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 247 records for Clifford in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada215 records

215 records of the Clifford name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 103
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 44
  • Other Canadian records 68
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Clifford

    Came to Ontario in 1878 aboard the Moravian, bound for Bradford, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Clifford

    Buried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 60.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Albert Clifford

    Died 1971, aged 67; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 215 records for Clifford in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom70 records

70 records of the Clifford name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 54
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 14
  • Other British records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Clifford

    Died 1981, aged 72; buried at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jeremiah Clifford

    Buried in 1826 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 67.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Albert James Clifford

    Will proved in 1936; of Swansea, Glamorgan.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 70 records for Clifford in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand42 records

42 records of the Clifford name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 33
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 8
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Elizabeth Clifford

    Buried in 1928 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 39.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Lambert Clifford

    Died 1928, aged 64; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Myrtle Ivy Clifford

    Died 1972, aged 79; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for Clifford in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Clifford name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Patrick Noel Clifford

    Born 1960 in Ireland; died 1996 in Lyon (Rhône).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Clifford in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Clifford.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Clifford is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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