Surname Kleef - Meaning and Origin
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Kleef: What does the surname Kleef mean?
The last name Kleef is a German surname meaning "cliff." The name may have originally been derived from a geographical feature such as a mountain or hill with steep sides or a cliff. It could also have been a topographic name, describing someone who lived at or near a cliff. In addition, the name may have been occupational, derived from the Old High German word “kleb” meaning “adhesive”; suggesting that the original bearer of the name may have been a glue-maker.
The name also appears to common in the Netherlands and was listed in the De Nederlandse Familienaamindex (Dutch Family Name Index). Records of the name date back to the fifteenth century, with the earliest recorded spelling being that of Johannes Capitan van Kleef.
The name is most commonly found in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. There are also some families bearing the name in North America, particularly in the US, who most likely migrated from Germany and the Netherlands in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries.
The Kleef surname is a distinct and recognizable surname with a long and varied ancestral history. It is a name with an interesting story to tell about its original bearer, wherever they came from.
Order DNA origin analysisKleef: Where does the name Kleef come from?
The last name Kleef is a fairly rare name, found today mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. In the Netherlands, the most concentrated populations of Kleefs are found in North Holland and the Gelderland province.
In Belgium, the name Kleef is mainly found in the province of Brabant Wallon, with some occurrences in other provinces such as Hainaut and Limburg. In Germany, Kleef is a fairly common name in the state of Westphalia.
Tracing back to its origin, the Kleef surname is thought to have derived from the Dutch place name - the town of Kleef. The place name itself dates back to the late Proto-Germanic period (500BC - 500AD), when the prefix 'Kleve' meant 'clayey soil'.
Therefore, over time, this place name came to define the last name of many people who had migrated out from the town and established themselves in other parts of the Netherlands and parts of Europe.
Today, the population of Karsten Kleef increased from 655 in 1950 to 3,948 in 1999, and the last name Kleef is still habitually used by the people of the said regions.
Variations of the surname Kleef
The surname Kleef is a Dutch topographic name for someone who lived near a sluice or dam, derived from the Dutch word ‘kleef’, meaning ‘dam’. It is also an occupational name for a sluicemaster derived from the same root. There are numerous variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin for this surname, including Kleif, Klief, Kleiff, Kleip, Kleipf, Kleefs, Kleers, Klip, Kleyp, Kleive and Klijf.
The German spellings of the name are Kleif, Kleiff and Kleipf, or Kleif, Kleyp or Kleipp in the Low German dialect. In Dutch, the spellings would be Kleefs, Kleers, or Klijf. In Scotland, the name occurs as Cleiff, or with the Gaelic spelling, Cleef. In America, the name has been changed to Cleaves, Cleve, Cleff, Clave or Cliffe.
The approximate frequency of the surname Kleef varies according to the region and its other variants. According to the census data released by the United States Census Bureau, the name Kleef ranks on the 704,140th position in terms of frequency. In the Netherlands, the surname is very common with records of 4,472 population with this surname present. The United Kingdom, however, has the lowest number of population with this surname, with only 180 population bearing the surname Kleef.
In conclusion, the origin of the surname Kleef is Dutch, and the variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin include Kleif, Klief, Kleiff, Kleip, Kleipf, Kleefs, Kleers, Klip, Kleyp, Kleive and Klijf. In addition, the surname also has German, Scottish, and American variants, including Cleiff, Cleef,Cleaves, Cleve, Cleff, Clave or Cliffe. The approximate frequency of the surname Kleef varies according to the region and its other variants.
Famous people with the name Kleef
- Ernst van Kleef: Dutch film director, artist and fashion designer.
- Béla Kleef: Hungarian industrialist and philanthropist.
- Hans Kleef: Dutch-born German Modernist painter and graphic artist.
- Jan Kleefstra: Dutch singer-songwriter, poet and TV presenter.
- Micky van Kleef: Dutch footballer.
- Koen Kleefstra: Dutch poet and performance artist.
- Harmen Kleefstra: Dutch painter and video installation artist.
- Sybren Kleefstra: Dutch classical guitarist.
- Reita van Kleef: Dutch model and Miss Holland 2008.
- Thomas Kleefstra: Dutch professional footballer.
- Han Kleef: Dutch and Canadian marble sculptures and painter.
- Theo Kleef: Dutch cyclist and Olympic gold medalist.
- Wilhelmina Kleef: Dutch Rulers of the 19th century.
- Mathijs van Kleef: Dutch sculptor and performance artist.
- Joop Kleefstra: Dutch photographer.
- Joachim Kleefstra: Dutch politician.
- Dameon van Kleef: Dutch business executive.
- Rob Kleefstra: Dutch adventurer, cyclist and explorer.
- Robert Kleef: Dutch painter and water-colourist.
- Lizemijn van Kleef: Dutch flautist.