surname and later a masc. proper name, attested from 12c. as a surname, originally a place-name, "ford at the steep bank;" see cliff + ford (n.).
Entries linking to clifford
cliff n.
Old English clif "steep and rugged face of a rocky mass, promontory, steep slope," from Proto-Germanic *kliban (source also of Old Saxon clif, Old Norse klif, Middle Dutch klippe, Dutch klip, Old High German klep, German Klippe "cliff, promontory, steep rock").
Clift has been a variant spelling since 15c. and was common in early Modern English. It represents an influence by or merger with clift, a variant of cleft (n.). Cliff-dweller first attested 1879, American English, in reference to aboriginal tribes of the U.S. Southwest who built dwellings in natural recesses in cliffs.
ford n.
Old English ford "shallow place where water can be crossed," from Proto-Germanic *furdu- (source also of Old Frisian forda, Old High German furt, German Furt "ford"), from PIE *prtu- "a going, a passage" (source also of Latin portus "harbor"), from root *per- (2) "to lead, pass over." The line of automobiles (company founded 1903) is named for U.S. manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947).