Cundiff
A surname likely related to the English place-name Cundliffe, meaning “eagle cliff” or a similar cliff-name.
The #5,531 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,140 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This name is generally treated as a variant of an English locational surname from a place-name like Cundliffe or Topcliffe. The excerpt from Bardsley suggests the underlying sense is something like “eagle cliff,” combining an element for an eagle with Old English clif, “cliff” or “slope.” The modern spelling Cundiff reflects later sound change and spelling simplification, especially the loss of the internal -l- sound.
History
The surname appears to have English origins and later crossed the Atlantic, where the simplified spelling became established in the United States. Historical spellings vary, and Bardsley notes forms such as Cunliffe/Cunliffe-like variants in connection with Cundiff. Today it is found chiefly as an American surname, much rarer than the better-known Cunliffe.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly remarks that the name has “crossed the Atlantic,” a neat clue to how a northern English surname took root in America.
From the historical record
“there is a teodency to elide the c; cf, Ciinliffe or Topliff for Cundiff and Topcliff. This sur- name has crossed the Atlantic. No doubt the meaning is the eagle-cliff. 'niamu Amedyff, 1379! P. T. Yorka.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances