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Home › Baby Names Directory › Cleave

Cleave

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Cleave

Pronounced KLEEV /ˈkliːv/High

Meaning: Cleave is an English surname derived from the Old English clif, meaning 'cliff, slope, or riverbank'; it started as a locational name for someone who lived near such a feature, later carried into first-name use.Medium

In 30 seconds: Cleave is an English surname name from Old English clif, 'cliff' or 'slope.' As a boy's first name it stayed rare, peaking early around 1920 (said KLEEV).
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Origin MediumEnglish
MeaningCleave is an English surname derived from the Old English clif, meaning 'cliff, slope, or riverbank'; it started as a locational name for someone who lived near such a feature, later carried into first-name use.
U.S. rank (1972)#5107 ↘ Falling
1972 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1920
Total births (all-time)≈ 403

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 192018851972

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Cleave began as an English topographical surname, from Old English clif, describing land by a cliff, bank, or slope. Like many English surnames it drifted into first-name use, most often in the early twentieth-century American South.

Cleave was never common as a given name, logged for only about eighteen boys a year at its peak around 1920, and it had faded from records by the early 1970s. It reads today as a rugged, old-fashioned nature-surname pick.

Did you know? Cleave comes from the same Old English word as the modern word 'cliff'; it once simply described a family living on a riverbank or slope.
Overall data confidence 72%
References - Cleave — Old English clif, 'cliff, slope, riverbank'; English topographical surname

Variations

CleveCleavesClive

Nicknames

Cleve

Famous Bearers

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If you like Cleave…

Clive— shares the same Old English 'cliff' root
Cleveland— a like place-name surname built on 'cliff-land'
Clifford— another cliff-rooted English surname name
Grover— a like vintage nature-surname name

Explore names like Cleave

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Cleave mean?

It is an English surname from the Old English clif, meaning 'cliff, slope, or riverbank.'

How do you pronounce Cleave?

It is said KLEEV /kliːv/, one syllable, like the word 'cleave.'

Is Cleave a boy or girl name?

Cleave is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Cleave?

It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about eighteen boys a year at its peak around 1920.

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