Clinche History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Clinche is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived close to a low hill. The surname Clinche originally derived from the Old English word Clenc which meant lump, or hill. 1

Early Origins of the Clinche family

The surname Clinche was first found in Wiltshire, at a hamlet named Clinch and/or Clinch Common in the Vale of Pewsey to the east of Wootton Rivers, near Marlborough. 2

Hugh Clinche was recorded in Lincolnshire in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1223. 1 In Wiltshire, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 notes John de la Clenche held lands there at that time. The same rolls included Seman Clenche, Suffolk and Richard Clenche, Suffolk. 3

"The family of Clinch, now best represented in and around Sittingbourne, [Kent] resided in Hernehill in this county during the 17th century, where the name still remains." 4

Early History of the Clinche family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clinche research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1223, 1273, 1305, 1327, 1332, 1582, 1584, 1593, 1600, 1603, 1607, 1680, 1692, 1743, 1770 and 1834 are included under the topic Early Clinche History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clinche Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Clinche family name include Clinch, Clench, Clinche, Clenche, Clynch and others.

Early Notables of the Clinche family

Notables of the family at this time include

Hugh Clinche, a prominent landholder in 13th century Lincolnshire

Migration of the Clinche family to Ireland

Some of the Clinche family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 235 words (17 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Clinche family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Clinche surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Thomas Clinch who arrived in Somers Islands in 1662; Nicholas Clynch, his wife Alice and his brother John, who came to South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1682.

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.