Clixby History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Clixby is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Clixby family lived in the North Riding of Yorkshire at Cleasby, a parish in the union of Darlington, wapentake of Gilling-East. 1 2

Early Origins of the Clixby family

The surname Clixby was first found in Yorkshire where the village of Cleasby (sometimes Clesby) in the North Riding of Yorkshire was held by Enisan, a Norman noble, who is the conjectural ancestor of the Cleasby surname. 3 4

The first reference for the family was found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 as Johannes de Clesbe. 5

Early History of the Clixby family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clixby research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1202, 1273, 1300, 1379, 1416, 1587 and 1784 are included under the topic Early Clixby History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clixby Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Clesby, Cleasby, Clisby, Clisbee, Clesbie, Clesebi, Cleseby, Clesby, Clesbe and many more.

Early Notables of the Clixby family

More information is included under the topic Early Clixby Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Clixby family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Clixby name or one of its variants: William Clisby who arrived in America in 1768.

Contemporary Notables of the name Clixby (post 1700) +

Joseph H. Clixby, American Republican politician, Supervisor of Springwells Township, Michigan, 1889-90; Defeated, 1890 6

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html