Cleasby - the name meaning
The general consensus is that Cleasby is a geographical surname originating from Old Norse, the “by” ending meaning farm or settlement. The first part comes from the forenames either Kleppr or Kleiss. So maybe the original Cleasbys came from a country where the Old Norse dialect was used. Co-incidentally, one of the most famous Cleasbys, Richard Cleasby wrote an Old Norse to English dictionary with Gudbrand Vigfusson it was published in 1874, some years after his death in 1947.
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The village Cleasby in North Yorkshire, lies just over two miles from Darlington 30 miles from the area in Westmoreland where my Cleasby ancestors came from.
The question has to be: did the Cleasby family come from Cleasby or was Cleasby named after them?
Some sources say that the name starts with Harsculph Cleasby when land in that area was passed on from Enisan who died in the 12th century. However Harsculph’s father was William de Cleasby so it sounds like the place was named after Harsculph rather than the other way round. By the way Harsculph was also known as Harsculph Rufus and distantly related to William the Conqueror.
It is also possible that people from Cleasby (not descendants of Harsculph) moved elsewhere and were given the surname Cleasby to distinguish their family from others.
A Y-DNA test could help figure this out, but having no Y DNA and not being a Cleasby, I'll have to leave that to others to investigate.
If you have researched this, please let me know.
Sources
British History Online
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol1/pp158-160
National Archives
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/81087f6a-dc98-4f0b-bc93-ca66fe3c259b
The question has to be: did the Cleasby family come from Cleasby or was Cleasby named after them?
Some sources say that the name starts with Harsculph Cleasby when land in that area was passed on from Enisan who died in the 12th century. However Harsculph’s father was William de Cleasby so it sounds like the place was named after Harsculph rather than the other way round. By the way Harsculph was also known as Harsculph Rufus and distantly related to William the Conqueror.
It is also possible that people from Cleasby (not descendants of Harsculph) moved elsewhere and were given the surname Cleasby to distinguish their family from others.
A Y-DNA test could help figure this out, but having no Y DNA and not being a Cleasby, I'll have to leave that to others to investigate.
If you have researched this, please let me know.
Sources
British History Online
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol1/pp158-160
National Archives
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/81087f6a-dc98-4f0b-bc93-ca66fe3c259b