NameCensus.

UK surname

Cleaver

An occupational surname referring to a butcher or one who works with cleavers or butcher's knives.

In the 1881 census there were 2,537 people recorded with the Cleaver surname, ranking it #1,759 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,720, ranked #1,828, down from #1,759 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rugby, London parishes and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cotswold, Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cleaver is 3,789 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 46.6%.

1881 census count

2,537

Ranked #1,759

Modern count

3,720

2016, ranked #1,828

Peak year

1999

3,789 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cleaver had 2,537 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,759 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,720 in 2016, ranked #1,828.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 3,625 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cleaver surname distribution map

The map shows where the Cleaver surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Cleaver surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Cleaver over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 1,475 #1,943
1861 historical 1,501 #1,886
1881 historical 2,537 #1,759
1891 historical 2,627 #1,812
1901 historical 3,237 #1,725
1911 historical 3,625 #1,441
1997 modern 3,607 #1,792
1998 modern 3,763 #1,792
1999 modern 3,789 #1,795
2000 modern 3,745 #1,798
2001 modern 3,709 #1,782
2002 modern 3,743 #1,812
2003 modern 3,627 #1,825
2004 modern 3,586 #1,843
2005 modern 3,489 #1,868
2006 modern 3,541 #1,849
2007 modern 3,547 #1,858
2008 modern 3,562 #1,861
2009 modern 3,663 #1,858
2010 modern 3,771 #1,845
2011 modern 3,741 #1,838
2012 modern 3,679 #1,832
2013 modern 3,764 #1,820
2014 modern 3,776 #1,828
2015 modern 3,728 #1,830
2016 modern 3,720 #1,828

Geography

Back to top

Where Cleavers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Rugby, London parishes, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars, Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken and Tetbury. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cotswold, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon and Sandwell. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Rugby Warwickshire
2 London parishes London 3
3 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
4 Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken Warwickshire
5 Tetbury Gloucestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cotswold 011 Cotswold
2 Rugby 010 Rugby
3 Stratford-on-Avon 005 Stratford-on-Avon
4 Sandwell 014 Sandwell
5 Stratford-on-Avon 004 Stratford-on-Avon

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Cleaver

These lists show first names that appear often with the Cleaver surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Cleaver

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cleaver, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Cleaver surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cleaver household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Cleaver is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cleaver is most concentrated in decile 7 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cleaver falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cleaver is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Cleaver, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Cleaver

The surname Cleaver is an English occupational name derived from the Middle English word "cliver," meaning a small sword or knife. It originates from the Old English word "culter," which means knife or ploughshare. The name likely referred to someone who made or sold knives or cleavers, which were essential tools for butchers and cooks.

The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 13th century in Norfolk, England. A person named William le Clyver was documented in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk in 1273. The surname was also found in other parts of East Anglia, including Suffolk and Essex, during the medieval period.

One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1327, where a Richard Clyvere was listed. The Cleaver surname also appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1381, with a John Clevere recorded.

In the 15th century, the surname was sometimes spelled as "Clyver" or "Clivere," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common during that time. For instance, a William Clivere was recorded in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1490.

One notable individual with the Cleaver surname was Robert Cleaver, a Protestant clergyman and Bishop of Chester who lived from 1570 to 1625. Another was John Cleaver, a 17th-century English playwright and poet who was born around 1615.

In the 18th century, the surname Cleaver was found in various parts of England, including Gloucestershire, where a Thomas Cleaver was born in 1705, and Warwickshire, where a John Cleaver was born in 1725.

A famous bearer of the name in the 19th century was Samuel Cleaver, an English mathematician and academic who lived from 1781 to 1861. He served as the Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford.

While the Cleaver surname has its origins in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to emigration from Britain.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Cleaver families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cleaver surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Warwickshire leads with 772 Cleavers recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.36x.

County Total Index
Warwickshire 772 12.36x
Middlesex 255 1.03x
Northamptonshire 177 7.60x
Oxfordshire 145 9.48x
Surrey 116 0.96x
Lancashire 110 0.37x
Leicestershire 110 4.01x
Kent 101 1.20x
Gloucestershire 91 1.87x
Bedfordshire 66 5.15x
Buckinghamshire 66 4.41x
Staffordshire 61 0.73x
Yorkshire 60 0.24x
Nottinghamshire 44 1.32x
Cheshire 38 0.70x
Hampshire 36 0.71x
Lincolnshire 36 0.91x
Derbyshire 30 0.77x
Hertfordshire 22 1.29x
Worcestershire 20 0.62x
Essex 19 0.39x
Shropshire 19 0.89x
Carmarthenshire 17 1.63x
Somerset 17 0.43x
Monmouthshire 14 0.78x
Berkshire 13 0.70x
Sussex 13 0.31x
Norfolk 9 0.24x
Cambridgeshire 8 0.51x
Cumberland 8 0.38x
Flintshire 8 1.20x
Huntingdonshire 6 1.22x
Devon 5 0.10x
Argyllshire 4 0.58x
Glamorgan 4 0.09x
Roxburghshire 4 0.89x
Wiltshire 4 0.18x
Royal Navy 3 1.02x
Rutland 2 1.10x
Brecknockshire 1 0.20x
Channel Islands 1 0.14x
Lanarkshire 1 0.01x
Midlothian 1 0.03x
Northumberland 1 0.03x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 97 Cleavers recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.66x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 97 4.66x
Coventry St Michael 82 40.87x
Aston 70 4.07x
Coventry Holy Trinity 59 31.64x
Tetbury 55 199.71x
Rugby 44 52.07x
Stockton 39 670.10x
Leicester St Margaret 37 5.53x
Islington London 35 1.46x
Grandborough 31 851.65x
Woodford Cum Membris 28 562.25x
Portsea 25 2.51x
Sulgrave 25 642.67x
Leamington Priors 22 14.31x
St Marylebone London 22 1.66x
Steeple Barton 22 283.14x
Battersea 21 2.30x
Market Harborough 21 169.22x
Oving 21 644.17x
Camberwell 20 1.26x
Cubbington 20 240.10x
Royton 20 22.25x
St Pancras London 19 0.95x
Wellingborough 19 16.22x
Hanwell 18 40.99x
Long Itchington 18 184.05x
St George Hanover Square 18 4.12x
Bilton 17 118.06x
Harlington 16 352.42x
Hammersmith London 15 2.46x
Leamington Hastings 15 383.63x
Macclesfield 15 6.17x
Toddington 15 81.57x
West Derby 15 1.74x
Leamington 14 33.82x
Nottingham St Mary 14 1.62x
Oxford St Thomas 14 19.61x
Humberstone 13 57.62x
Lambeth 13 0.60x
Maidstone 13 5.16x
Mile End Old Town London 13 2.47x
Northampton St Giles 13 14.65x
Tackley 13 283.84x
Hillmorton 12 107.72x
Leighton Buzzard 12 21.75x
Luton 12 5.41x
Market Rasen 12 54.20x
Paddington London 12 1.32x
Tingewick 12 178.57x
Dunchurch 11 128.96x
Failsworth 11 16.36x
Kensington London 11 0.80x
Long Lawford 11 189.33x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 10 4.37x
Clerkenwell London 10 1.71x
Gorton 10 3.62x
Kettering 10 10.61x
Llanfihangel 10 132.80x
Nuneaton 10 13.82x
Oldham 10 1.05x
Oxford St Ebbe 10 22.21x
Snenton 10 7.62x
Southwark St George Martyr 10 2.01x
Warrington 10 2.87x
Wigginton 10 444.44x
Ashborne 9 34.13x
Bethnal Green London 9 0.84x
Bromley London 9 1.65x
Chipping Norton 9 25.45x
Harbrough Magna 9 309.28x
Hinckley 9 13.82x
Neithrop 9 17.51x
Oldbury 9 5.66x
Solihull 9 20.04x
St Albans St Michael 9 47.17x
Clapham 8 2.58x
Nether Hallam 8 2.41x
Shrewsbury St Mary 8 9.48x
Standard Hill 8 100.63x
Wednesbury 8 3.83x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Cleaver surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 172
Sarah 109
Elizabeth 89
Emma 61
Ann 47
Eliza 42
Ellen 42
Emily 40
Jane 32
Alice 31
Annie 31
Hannah 27
Martha 25
Fanny 22
Louisa 21
Charlotte 19
Lucy 19
Caroline 18
Florence 18
Edith 17
Clara 15
Maria 15
Ada 14
Julia 14
Harriet 13
Harriett 13
Rose 13
Catherine 12
Kate 12
Anne 10
Amelia 9
Margaret 9
Matilda 9
Amy 7
Ethel 7
Lizzie 7
Selina 7
Agnes 6
Esther 6
Laura 6
Eleanor 5
Rosa 5
Sophia 5
Beatrice 4
Frances 4
Gertrude 4
Lydia 4
Minnie 4
Susan 4
Susannah 4

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Cleaver surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 185
John 138
George 94
Thomas 89
Henry 64
James 64
Charles 61
Alfred 54
Joseph 50
Frederick 34
Richard 34
Arthur 32
Edward 32
Samuel 31
Walter 20
Albert 18
Frank 17
Robert 14
Harry 12
Benjamin 10
Edwin 10
Ernest 10
David 9
Herbert 8
Fred 7
Abraham 6
Daniel 6
Wm. 6
Chas. 5
Francis 5
Tom 5
Fredrick 4
Henery 4
Isaac 4
Amos 3
Jonas 3
Percy 3
Alan 2
Allen 2
Arnold 2
Dennis 2
Eli 2
Horace 2
Jacob 2
Josiah 2
Leonard 2
Mark 2
Matthew 2
Simon 2
Thos. 2

FAQ

Cleaver surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cleaver surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,537 people were recorded with the Cleaver surname. That placed it at #1,759 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cleaver surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,720 in 2016. That gives Cleaver a modern rank of #1,828.

What does the Cleaver surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a butcher or one who works with cleavers or butcher's knives.

What does the Cleaver map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cleaver bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.