Male first name (English): Cliff, ford at the cliff, Old English (Geographic name as first name); clif = the cliff, ford = the ford, from a family name that goes back to a place name with the meaning 'ford by the cliff'; Used as a first name in since about the 19th C. Male first name (English): Cliff, Old English (Word format); clif = the cliff, by a family name for someone who lives in a cliff