UK surname
Clissold
A habitational surname derived from a place name referring to the cold clay soil found there.
In the 1881 census there were 436 people recorded with the Clissold surname, ranking it #7,485 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 399, ranked #11,902, down from #7,485 in 1881.
The strongest historical links point to Churcham, Sandhurst, St Mary-de-Lode, St Catherine Longford, Barnwood, Wootton Ville, North Hamlet,, Bisley, Miserdon and Painswick. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Stroud, Forest of Dean and Monmouthshire.
Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Clissold is 622 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 8.5%.
Historical parish links are strongest around Churcham, Sandhurst, St Mary-de-Lode, St Catherine Longford, Barnwood, Wootton Ville, North Hamlet,, Bisley, Miserdon, Painswick, Rodborough and Stroud, Whaddon, Longney, Brookthorpe, Harescombe, Haresfield, Standish, Moreton Valence, Saul, Fret. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.
The modern local-area list points to Stroud, Forest of Dean, Monmouthshire, Wiltshire and Cardiff. 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.
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.
The surname Clissold originates from England and dates back to the medieval period, specifically the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from a place name, either Clissold in Cheshire or Clissold in Hertfordshire. The name is thought to be Anglo-Saxon in origin, with the first element "Cliss" possibly meaning "cliff" or "slope," and the second element "feld" meaning "field."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Clissold appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled as "Clissholt." This official record of landowners and their holdings in various counties suggests that the Clissold family was already established in England during that time.
In the 14th century, the Clissold name appears in various legal documents and court records, such as the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1331, where a Thomas Clissold is mentioned. This indicates that the family had spread to different parts of the country by that period.
The Clissold name is also found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of the late 17th century, which recorded households and their taxable hearths. This suggests that the family had maintained their presence in England over several centuries.
One notable individual bearing the Clissold surname was Peter Clissold (1597-1658), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Carmarthen in the 1640s. He played a role in the English Civil War and was a supporter of the Parliamentarian cause.
Another prominent figure was Augustus Henry Clissold (1806-1888), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist from Stoke Newington, London. He donated land and funds to establish Clissold Park, a public park named after him, which opened in 1889.
Other notable individuals with the Clissold surname include:
1. Henry Clissold (1819-1905), an English industrialist and politician from Stoke Newington.
2. Edward Clissold (1768-1851), an English banker and landowner from Essex.
3. John Clissold (1769-1837), an English merchant and landowner from Stoke Newington.
4. Thomas Clissold (1756-1826), an English merchant and landowner from Cheshire.
5. William Clissold (1795-1874), an English architect and surveyor from Yorkshire.