The cleaver Surname
cleaver Name Meaning and History
- English: from Middle English clevere ‘one who cleaves’ (a derivative of Old English cleofan ‘to split’), hence an occupational name for someone who split wood into planks using a wedge rather than a saw, or possibly for a butcher.
- English: topographic name from Middle English cleve ‘bank’, ‘slope’ (from the dative of Old English clif) + the suffix -er, denoting an inhabitant.
- Americanized spelling of German Kliewer or Klüver (see Kluver).
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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