Find out how popular the last name Cleveland is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cleveland.

Cleveland, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cleveland surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cleveland in America

Cleveland is the 1127th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cleveland surname appeared 31,123 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Cleveland.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cleveland to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cleveland

The surname Cleveland originated in England, deriving from the place name "Cleveland" which refers to a hilly region in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The name is thought to have derived from the Old English words "clif" meaning cliff or hill, and "land" meaning land or territory.

Records show that the Cleveland surname first appeared in the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman invasion.

The Cleveland name can be traced back to the village of Cleveland, located in the North Riding of Yorkshire. This village was likely named after the surrounding hilly region it was situated in. Over time, people from the Cleveland area adopted the place name as their surname.

In the 13th century, there are records of a Richard de Cleveland who was a prominent landowner in Yorkshire. Another early bearer of the name was John de Cleveland, who was born around 1330 and served as a knight during the Hundred Years' War.

One of the most famous individuals with the Cleveland surname was Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, who was born in 1837 and served as president from 1885 to 1889, and again from 1893 to 1897.

Other notable individuals with the Cleveland surname include:

1. Benjamin Cleveland (1738-1806), an American Revolutionary War soldier and militia leader.
2. Moses Cleveland (1754-1806), an American surveyor and founder of the city of Cleveland, Ohio.
3. John Cleveland (1613-1658), an English poet and satirist during the English Civil War.
4. Samuel Cleveland (1837-1915), an American businessman and philanthropist, who co-founded the Cleveland Twist Drill Company.

Throughout history, variations in the spelling of the Cleveland surname have included Cleaveland, Clevland, and Clyveland, often reflecting regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cleveland

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cleveland.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cleveland was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cleveland has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cleveland was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cleveland, please contact us.

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