Cleveland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Cleveland

What does the name Cleveland mean?

The name Cleveland belongs to the early history of Britain, it’s origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in Cleveley or Cleveland-Port, hamlets in the parish of Ormesby, union of Guisborough in Yorkshire, both in the generally in the Cleveland Vale (hilly district), of Yorkshire. 1 2

Early Origins of the Cleveland family

The surname Cleveland was first found in Yorkshire where the first records of the family were found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1370: Johannes de Clyveland; and Robertus de Clyveland, 1379. 3

Cleveland Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person’s name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Cleveland include Cleveland, Cleaveland, Clyveland and others.

Early Notables of the Cleveland family

Distinguished members of the family include

• John Cleveland (1613-1658), an English poet, graduated Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1632, opposed the election of Oliver Cromwell as member for Cambridge in the Long Parliament, and lost his college…
• The Cleavelands were a family of whalers from the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, from the seventeenth though the nineteenth centuries. They trace their name…