10,653 Global CLOSE Family Members

CLOSE Family History

This interesting name, with the variants Cluse, Closs, Clowes and Clowser, is of early medieval English origin, and has two possible interpretations. Firstly, it may be a topographical surname for someone living in an enclosed place, such as (in towns) a courtyard set back from the main street, or (in country districts) a farmyard. The derivation is from the Middle English "clos(e)", from the Old French "clos", from the Late Latin "clausum", a derivative of "claudere", to close, shut. Secondly, the name may have developed from a nickname for someone considered to be secretive, reticent, or reserved, derived from the Middle English "clos(e)", secret.