2000
#6,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,476
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.66
Rare Last name
Cleaver
An occupational surname referring to a butcher or one who works with cleavers or butcher's knives.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,061 Americans carry the last name Cleaver. That puts it at #7,283 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,725 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cleaver surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cleaver with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.1K
1 in 67,725
Census rank
#7,283
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,413 bearers of the surname Cleaver in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7283rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleaver, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cleaver
The surname Cleaver is an English occupational name derived from the Middle English word "cliver," meaning a small sword or knife. It originates from the Old English word "culter," which means knife or ploughshare. The name likely referred to someone who made or sold knives or cleavers, which were essential tools for butchers and cooks.
The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 13th century in Norfolk, England. A person named William le Clyver was documented in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk in 1273. The surname was also found in other parts of East Anglia, including Suffolk and Essex, during the medieval period.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1327, where a Richard Clyvere was listed. The Cleaver surname also appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1381, with a John Clevere recorded.
In the 15th century, the surname was sometimes spelled as "Clyver" or "Clivere," reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common during that time. For instance, a William Clivere was recorded in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1490.
One notable individual with the Cleaver surname was Robert Cleaver, a Protestant clergyman and Bishop of Chester who lived from 1570 to 1625. Another was John Cleaver, a 17th-century English playwright and poet who was born around 1615.
In the 18th century, the surname Cleaver was found in various parts of England, including Gloucestershire, where a Thomas Cleaver was born in 1705, and Warwickshire, where a John Cleaver was born in 1725.
A famous bearer of the name in the 19th century was Samuel Cleaver, an English mathematician and academic who lived from 1781 to 1861. He served as the Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford.
While the Cleaver surname has its origins in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to emigration from Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cleaver
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleaver, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cleaver bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cleaver surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 3,566
- Black or African American9.8% · 433
- Two or more races3.9% · 174
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 154
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cleaver
Cleaver appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,387
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,509
+33 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 472 places
2020
#7,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,413
-96 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.48
Rank movement Up 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,915 | 4,476 | 1.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,387 | 4,509 | 1.53 | +33 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 472 places |
| 2020 | #7,283 | 4,413 | 1.48 | -96 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 104 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cleaver surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,387 | #7,283 | 1.4% |
| Count | 4,509 | 4,413 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.53 | 1.48 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cleaver bearers went from 4,509 to 4,413 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,387 to #7,283.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cleaver
FAQ
Cleaver surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cleaver?
Name Census estimates that about 5,061 living Americans carry the surname Cleaver. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,725 residents.
How common is Cleaver?
Cleaver ranks #7,283 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.48 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,413 people with the surname Cleaver. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,061), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.48 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cleaver.
Has Cleaver become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cleaver went from 4,509 recorded bearers to 4,413. That is a decrease of 96 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,387 to #7,283.
What does the Census say about the background of Cleaver?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cleaver, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cleaver in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (3,566 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cleaver appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (9.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cleaver (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cleaver mean?
An occupational surname referring to a butcher or one who works with cleavers or butcher's knives. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cleaver (1.48 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Cleaver?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.