ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2592
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2592
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From: Sara L Friedemann 
23 Nov 2002

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Alane de Cleaves> would be an appropriate name
for an Englishman living in the northeastern part of England between
1100 and 1400.  Here is the information we have found.

Since the arrival of Norman settlers, <Alan> has been a popular name, 
in the north of England, and especially in Scotland, where the spelling 
<Alane> is found twice in a 14th century Scots epic concerning Robert 
the Bruce. [1,4]  In England in the 14th to 16th centuries it was 
usually spelled <Aleyn> or <Aleyne>.  The name is recorded in Latin as 
<Alanus> in 1071-5, 1086, 1189-1212, 1284; this probably represents a 
vernacular (spoken) form of <Alan>. [4]  In the 14th century, <Alane> 
was probably pronounced \AH-layn\, where the \ah\ is the sound of <a> 
in <father> and the final <e> is silent.

You are right that <Cleaves> derives from the Old English word <clif>
'cliff, rock, steep descent.'  This element is found in numerous place names,
giving rise to the modern surnames <Cliff>, <Cliffe>, <Cleeve>, <Cleve>, and
<Clive>.  However, we have not found the particular spelling <Cleaves>
before modern times.  Spellings of surnames using this element that are
found in different parts of England in your period are as follows: [2,3]

  _Yorkshire, 1315_
  del Clyfes

  _Suffolk, 1327_
  de Cleue

  _Colchester, 1361_
  atte Clyve
  atte Cleve

  _Lincolnshire, 1332_
  Cliue
  De Clif
  de Clif'
  de la clif
  de Clyf'
  de le Clyff'
  de Clyue 

Some earlier examples of the name include <de la Clif>, <del Clif>, <de
la Clive>, <de la Clyve>, all in 1273, <atte Clive> 1301, <atte Cliue> 1327, 
<del Clife>, <del Clyf'> 1379, <atte Cliue> 1327, and <del Clife> 1379. [5]
In these names, the apostrophe was used as a scribal abbreviation, most likely
in place of a terminal <e>.

Some of these bynames meant 'at the cliff(s),' and simply described the
terrain where a person lived; this includes the names with <del>, <atte>,
<de la> and <de le>.  The others, which include <de>, generally mean "from
[a place called] Cliff", and imply that the person lived in a place with 
a recognized name.  Regardless, all the forms using <del>, <de la>, <de>, 
or <de le> were documentary (written) forms; the vernacular forms used 
<atte> 'at the.'

In summary, <Alane del Clyfes> is a fine name for a 14th century
Lowland Scot.  It is less likely for an Englishman, since we have not
found evidence of this spelling in England.  Other spellings of the 
surname listed above are more probable in the south of England, where 
we'd expect to find the given name as <Alan> (earlier) or <Aleyn> 
(later).  If you would like to know how any of the bynames listed above
were pronounced, please write us again and we'll be happy to help.

We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't
hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further
questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval
Benicoeur, Julie Stampnitzky, Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, and
Galiana de Baiona.

For the Academy,

~Argantgui filia Catmaili, 23Nov02

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References:

[1] Symon Freser of Lovat, "13th & 14th Century Scottish Names" (WWW: J.
Mittleman, 1996)
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/scottish14/

[2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Cliff

[3] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "An Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for
Lincolnshire, England" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 2000)
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/.

[4] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian
Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Alan

[5] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ 
(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980). s.nn. Cliff, Clive

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