The Cleave Name: Records, Origin and Blazon

If your family name is Cleave, its origin lies with Cleaves, an English surname. Name scholars give the meaning as “A dweller at the cliff or rock or steep descent”.

Heraldry and the Cleave name

There is no single Cleave family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were.

How the spelling arose

Without the “s” of Cleaves, Cleave is a simpler written form of the same name. Census takers and immigration officers often wrote what they heard. You may also find the name written Cleve.

For the full story, order the Cleave surname pack.