Meaning & Origin
A habitational surname from Old English.
Clifford is a boy's and girl's baby name of Old English origin, from the habitational surname meaning "ford by a cliff" — from Old English clif ("cliff") and ford ("river crossing"). Multiple villages in England bear the name, and it transferred to first-name use through 19th-century surname-naming conventions.
Clifford ranked in the U.S. top 30 boys' names from the 1910s through the 1940s. Clifford the Big Red Dog, the beloved children's character created by Norman Bridwell in 1963, gave the name a warmhearted, gentle giant image that has introduced it to every new generation of early readers. The nickname Cliff retains its own classic appeal.