Clerge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Clerge

What does the name Clerge mean?

The history of the Clerge name began with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from the given name Clarice, a very popular personal name during the Middle Ages. 1 This name is of metronymic origin. In this case the original bearer of the surname was the mother, whose children were named after her first name.

The name may also have originally been from Normandy as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists Muriel de la Clergesse, Normandy, 1198. 2

Early Origins of the Clerge family

The surname Clerge was first found in Cambridgeshire where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has two entries for the same individual with two different spellings: Henry serviens Claricie, Cambridgeshire; and Henry serviens Clarugge, Cambridgeshire. 1

Early History of the Clerge family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clerge research. Another 38 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1618, 1653, 1656, 1660, 1695, 1705, 1728 and 1780 are included under the topic Early Clerge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clerge 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 Clerge family name include Claridge, Clarridge, Clarges, Clargeis, Claredge, Clarredge, Claradge, Clarradge, Claridges, Clarridges, Claredges and many more.

Early Notables of the Clerge family

Sir Thomas Clarges (c 1618-1695), an English politician, Member of Parliament for the Sheriffdoms of Ross, Sutherland, and Cromarty in 1656, Member of Parliament for Westminster in 1660, he was a important messenger between Richard Cromwell and Charles II. George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle noted in his letter to Charles II telling him that "he chose to send Mr. Clarges to him, because he was the only...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Clerge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Clerge family to Ireland

Some of the Clerge family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clerge migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Clerge surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Clerge Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Baptists Clerge, aged 28, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1832 3

Sources +

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 Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)