Clinch Family History
Clinch Name Meaning
Irish (Dublin Wexford): from Mac Loingsigh see McGlinchey and Lynch . English: habitational name from one or more of the various places with names deriving from Old English clenc ‘lump mass; hill; elevated land in a fen’ such as Clinch Green in Northiam (Sussex) Clench in Milton Lilborne and Clinghill in Bromham (both Wiltshire). Also perhaps a topographic name for someone who lived by such a feature. English: possibly also a metonymic occupational name for a maker or fixer of bolts and rivets from Middle English clinch clench ‘door nail secured by riveting or clinching’ from clench(en) ‘to fix firmly’.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022