Tag Archives: Surnames names

Cloudesley, Cloudsley

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  • Origin: English
  • Meaning: “rock meadow.”
  • Gender: unisex
  • First Appearance: 1600s

From the transferred use of the English place name and surname, it is composed of the Anglo-Saxon elements clúd (rock) and leáh (meadow).

The name was borne by Sir Cloudesley Shovell (1650-1707), a British Admiral who got his name from his grandmother’s surname, Lucy Cloudisley.

There is sporadic use of this name (only on males) in 17th-century England, most likely used in honour of Sir Cloudesley Shovell.

It would make an adorable female name and would fit right in with current trendy last name turned first names such as Piper, Lindsey, and Everley. The short form of Cloud makes the name even more irresistible.

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Vance

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  • Origin: English
  • Gender: Masculine
  • Meaning: “marsh, fen.”
  • Pronunciation: VANTS
  • First appearance: possibly 1611

From a Southern English dialectal form of Old English fenn (fen, marsh), this was a surname that was later transferred as a male first name. Earliest record of this name I could find is for a Vans Bartlett, christened 1611 of Devon, England, followed by a Vance Sullivan, christened 1681 of Herefordshire, England.

It first appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 male names in 1880, it peaked at #328 in 1969 and currently stands as the 976th most popular male name (2022).

Notable bearers include pulitzer prize winning journalist, Vance Trimble (1913-2021) and Australian singer and songwriter, Vance Joy.

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