NameCensus.

UK surname

Cluley

A surname derived from a place name or locality, possibly referring to someone from Cluley or a similar location.

In the 1881 census there were 124 people recorded with the Cluley surname, ranking it #17,429 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 244, ranked #17,096, up from #17,429 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Eccles, Foleshill and Marston Bigott, Frome Selwood, Rodden, Berkeley, Standerwick, Beckington, Laverton. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Blaby, Bromsgrove and Birmingham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cluley is 266 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 96.8%.

1881 census count

124

Ranked #17,429

Modern count

244

2016, ranked #17,096

Peak year

2010

266 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cluley had 124 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,429 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 244 in 2016, ranked #17,096.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 220 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cluley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cluley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cluley 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 57 #23,092
1861 historical 82 #23,321
1881 historical 124 #17,429
1891 historical 129 #20,285
1901 historical 168 #16,886
1911 historical 220 #14,088
1997 modern 251 #15,236
1998 modern 245 #15,903
1999 modern 251 #15,751
2000 modern 254 #15,578
2001 modern 243 #15,791
2002 modern 254 #15,641
2003 modern 248 #15,695
2004 modern 239 #16,193
2005 modern 237 #16,244
2006 modern 239 #16,224
2007 modern 233 #16,752
2008 modern 239 #16,583
2009 modern 250 #16,421
2010 modern 266 #16,067
2011 modern 247 #16,783
2012 modern 239 #17,027
2013 modern 246 #16,979
2014 modern 247 #17,035
2015 modern 244 #17,090
2016 modern 244 #17,096

Geography

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Where Cluleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Eccles, Foleshill, Marston Bigott, Frome Selwood, Rodden, Berkeley, Standerwick, Beckington, Laverton, Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars and Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Blaby, Bromsgrove, Birmingham, Leicester and Cotswold. 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 Eccles Lancashire
2 Foleshill Warwickshire
3 Marston Bigott, Frome Selwood, Rodden, Berkeley, Standerwick, Beckington, Laverton Somerset
4 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire
5 Coventry Holy Trinity (incl. Radford), Coventry St Michael, Wyken Warwickshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Blaby 005 Blaby
2 Bromsgrove 014 Bromsgrove
3 Birmingham 037 Birmingham
4 Leicester 003 Leicester
5 Cotswold 001 Cotswold

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cluley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cluley

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cluley, 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 Cluley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cluley 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Cluley is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cluley 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

Cluley falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cluley is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

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

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Cluley

The surname Cluley is of English origin, first recorded in the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "clou" meaning a hill or mound, and "leah" meaning a clearing or meadow. The name would have originally referred to someone who lived in or near a clearing on a hill.

Cluley appears to have originated in the counties of Staffordshire and Derbyshire in the West Midlands region of England. Variations in spelling included Clulowe, Clulow, and Clueley. It is related to place names like Clulow in Cheshire and Clulough in Staffordshire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Staffordshire parish registers from 1595, which mention a Thomas Cluley. The Hearth Tax Returns for Staffordshire in 1666 also list several Cluley households.

William Cluley (c.1594-1676) was a prosperous yeoman farmer from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His grandson, also named William Cluley (1647-1706), was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and suffered persecution for his religious beliefs.

Samuel Cluley (1754-1833) was an English coal merchant and philanthropist from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. He donated funds to establish several schools in the area.

John Cluley (1808-1882) was a prominent businessman and mayor of Hanley, Staffordshire. He was involved in the pottery industry and helped establish the Wedgwood Institute.

Joseph Cluley (1856-1923) was a British trade unionist and Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the Potteries constituency from 1918 to 1923.

Edwin Cluley (1886-1963) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire County Cricket Club in the early 20th century.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cluley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cluley 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 65 Cluleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.48x.

County Total Index
Warwickshire 65 21.48x
Leicestershire 15 11.28x
Middlesex 12 1.00x
Lancashire 9 0.63x
Yorkshire 9 0.76x
Derbyshire 5 2.66x
Nottinghamshire 3 1.86x
Staffordshire 3 0.74x
Durham 1 0.28x
Wiltshire 1 0.94x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Coventry Holy Trinity in Warwickshire leads with 16 Cluleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 177.19x.

Place Total Index
Coventry Holy Trinity 16 177.19x
Coventry St Michael 13 133.74x
Leicester St Margaret 12 36.99x
Barton Upon Irwell 8 74.63x
Aston 7 8.40x
Baginton 7 7777.78x
Atherstone 6 387.10x
Birmingham 6 5.95x
Denaby 6 895.52x
Foleshill 6 188.68x
Bethnal Green London 5 9.59x
Derby St Werburgh 5 46.08x
Belgrave 3 100.00x
Radford 3 36.50x
St Bartholomew Great 3 275.23x
Hackney London 2 2.97x
Normanton 2 56.02x
Shoreditch London 2 3.85x
Sowe 2 370.37x
Willenhall 2 26.35x
Corley 1 833.33x
Ecclesall Bierlow 1 4.14x
Gateshead 1 3.74x
Kirkdale 1 4.18x
Walsall Foreign 1 4.78x
Westbury 1 40.32x
Willenhall 1 2000.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 10
Emma 7
Sarah 6
Elizabeth 4
Alice 3
Ann 3
Annie 3
Eliza 3
Hannah 3
Ada 2
Gertrude 2
Rebecca 2
Anne 1
Arrabela 1
Bridget 1
Charlott 1
Eleanor 1
Fanny 1
Jemima 1
Julia 1
Kate 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Mabel 1
Margaret 1
Minnie 1
Nellie 1
Rachael 1
Rose 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

FAQ

Cluley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cluley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 124 people were recorded with the Cluley surname. That placed it at #17,429 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cluley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 244 in 2016. That gives Cluley a modern rank of #17,096.

What does the Cluley surname mean?

A surname derived from a place name or locality, possibly referring to someone from Cluley or a similar location.

What does the Cluley map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cluley 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.