Clifford Family History
Clifford Name Meaning
English and Irish: habitational name from any of various places called Clifford in Devon Gloucestershire and Yorkshire and in particular Herefordshire. The placename is derived from Old English clif ‘slope’ + ford ‘ford’. Irish: adoption of the name in 1 above as Anglicization of several Irish names especially Ó Clúmháin ‘descendant of Clúmhán’ which was the surname of an ecclesiastical family in Sligo and can be traced back to the 12th century. The personal name meant ‘little hairy one’ a diminutive of Irish clúmach<i/> ‘hairy’ from clúmh ‘feathers plumage down; hair or fur’. Clifford was also adopted for Coleman and in Fermanagh for Crifferty Clifferty and Cliffordy which are Anglicized forms of Mac Raibheartaigh (compare Rafferty ).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022