Surname Cunleff - Meaning and Origin
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Cunleff: What does the surname Cunleff mean?
The last name Cunleff is derived from the Middle English personal name Conleve, which can be translated to mean “beloved ruler” or “king of the hill.” The two parts of the word, con (which means ‘beloved’) and leof (which means ‘ruler’) from Old English, come together to give this meaning. This surname is likely a patronymic, meaning that it originated when a male ancestor of the Cunleff family took their father’s first name as their surname.
The Cunleff surname could also come from the Norman-French word ‘Conlevans’, which means ‘Hi-living’ or ‘Grand living’. This name could also be an Anglicized version of the Gaelic princes from the Clan MacNeil of Barra in Scotland. The clan was officially known as Cunne leof, which may have been Anglicized to the surname Cunleff over time.
The name Cunleff is relatively rare and is mainly associated with Scotland. It is not certain when the Cunleff family first arrived in Scotland, although it is known to have been in use in Scotland at least since the 16th century. Throughout time, the Cunleff name has spread all across the British Isles, but now there are only a few people with this surname, mostly concentrated in Scotland’s west coast regions.
Order DNA origin analysisCunleff: Where does the name Cunleff come from?
The last name Cunleff is most commonly found in the United States, with the greatest concentration of people with this name located in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
The history of the Cunleff name dates back to the late 19th century, when people of Irish descent settled in the northeastern US. Since then, various members of the Cunleff family have moved to other regions of the US, particularly to the Midwest and West Coast.
Today, the Cunleff surname is present across much of the country. The most populous states in which it is found include New York, California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan. Some Cunleffs can also be found in Canada, England, and Wales.
Cunleffs continue to make an impact in a variety of fields, from politics to science. For instance, US Senator Jim Cunleff from New York was appointed in 2021. Additionally, Dr. Jessica Cunleff, a biologist at the University of Iowa, has been researching the development of new drugs to treat cancer.
Regardless of the region, the Cunleff name is still strong today and is represented in a number of different ways.
Variations of the surname Cunleff
The surname Cunleff is of Irish origin and is found principally in Ulster and County Down. It is derived from the Gaelic Ó Conlaoigh, which means “descendant of Conlaoch” and “Conlaoch” being the Old Irish personal name derived from the Gaelic elements “con”, meaning “hound” and “laoch”, meaning “hero”.
Variants of the surname Cunleff include the spellings Connelly, Connolly, Conly, Conally, Conlye, Conleff, Conliff, Cundy, Cundief, Conlaoigh, Conlauigh, Cunnleff, ConLarry and O Conlaoigh.
The surname Cunleff is also found in Scotland, particularly in the regions of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, where it is often spelled as Cunnleiff.
The name is also found in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America.In these countries, the surname is often spelt as Conly, Connolly, Conley, Conley and Conneely.
Other variants of the name Cunleff include Conagar, Conegan, Connighan, Connagney, and Conigran.
The surnames Conly and Conley are two distinct surnames of Irish origin and should not be confused with Cunleff.
Famous people with the name Cunleff
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Danish actor)
- Ian Cunleff (English cricketer)
- Shane Cunleff (Australian football player)
- Stuart Cunleff (American film and TV producer/director)
- Todd Cunleff (American comedian and actor)
- John Cunleff (Irish-American architect)
- Pete Cunleff (English artist/illustrator)
- Cora Cunleff (American novelist and scriptwriter)
- August Cunleff (Austrian painter)
- Maeve Cunleff (Irish dancer and choreographer)
- Edward Cunleff (American historian)
- Hiob Cunleff (German Protestant preacher and theologian)