Where Does the Sutcliff Surname Come From?

Sutcliff is a branch of the Sutcliffe name tree. The family name meaning is “south cliff”, the same as for Sutcliffe.

• Regional accents shaped spellings long before dictionaries fixed them.
• Sutcliff drops the “e” of Sutcliffe, a shortening that clerks often made.
• Other spellings include Sutliffe.

Sutcliff coat of arms

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Sutcliff, so the heraldry linked to Sutcliffe is a starting point, not an automatic right. For the full story, order the Sutcliff surname pack.