Close
One-Name Study

Topics

• About the Close One-Name Study
• Variants
• Origin of the surname
• Frequency of the name
• Distribution of the name
• Data
• Links
• Contact Details

About the Close One-Name Study

I’m a relative newcomer to this one-name study, and would be pleased to hear from others who would like to work with me in building up a CLOSE database. Like many one-namers, I began with an interest in my own immediate family which aroused curiosity about the bigger picture. My first aim is to build a comprehensive database of CLOSE (and variants) births, marriages, deaths and census records for England & Wales, and to analyse this information to identify patterns. If you are researching CLOSE, CLOSS, CLOWES, CLOWSER, CLUSE or CLUES I would be very pleased to hear from you. I will also endeavour to answer your queries connected with these surnames – but please be patient as this study is still in its infancy.

Variants

Variants of CLOSE which I have registered are: CLOSS, CLOWES, CLOWSER and CLUSE. Other surnames for which I have some data are CLOWS and CLUES. I would be happy to collaborate with anyone researching one or more of these names.

Origin of the surname

The surname CLOSE has two possible origins: it could be topographical, referring to an enclosed place such as a courtyard or farmyard, or a nickname for someone reserved or secretive.

Frequency of the name

Frequency of the surnames in England & Wales in the 19th Century.

-----------------1841-------1861--------1881---------

• CLOSE........1,530........1,553.........2,439
• CLOWES........790...........924.........1,644
• CLOWS............63............24.............56
• CLOSS.............87............93.............98
• CLOWSER........71............67.............87
• CLUES.............91............89.............96
• CLUSE.............53............54.............39

It is estimated that the number of individuals in England in 2002 with these surnames was as follows:

• CLOSE............4,516
• CLOWES.........3,242
• CLOWS..................0
• CLOSS...............139
• CLOWSER............95
• CLUES................109
• CLUSE...................9

If you were one of these, then I would be delighted to hear from you.

Distribution of the name

Distribution of the surnames in England & Wales in 1861 was as follows:

• Counties with over 100 CLOSE occurrences were: Yorkshire (415), Durham (205), Lancashire (159) and Gloucestershire (142).
• CLOWES occurred most in Staffordshire (330), Cheshire (159) and Lancashire (126).
• The most CLOSS occurrences were in Caernarvonshire (20), Middlesex (15) and Monmouthshire (10), with single figures in just 5 other counties of England & Wales.
• CLOWSER was centred in and around London: Surrey (27), Middlesex (21) and Sussex (13), with just three individuals outside these counties.
• CLUSE was also mainly found in South-East England: Surrey (14) and Middlesex (11)

Data

Follow the links to search for data covering

• CLOSE and variants births 1837-1911
• CLOSE and variants marriages 1837-1911
• CLOSE and variants deaths 1837–1911.

BMDs after 1911 will follow later.

• CLOSE and variants census data

I'm in the early stages of archiving census records, so listings are incomplete. I hold additional information on many of the individuals listed, and further census records which are not yet ready for uploading to the archive. Please get in contact if you have a query or if you can add data to the collection.

Links

Here are a few weblinks – I can’t comment on the quality of the information on these sites, but you just might find something of interest:

• CloseAncestry.com – lots of information on Yorks and Lancs CLOSE families, and a dedicated discussion forum.
• DNA project for males with CLOSE or variant surname.
• CLOWES in New England
• CLOSS Canadian family with Irish Origins
• Nicola Close's website - her Somerset CLOSE ancestors

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mrs Margaret Southgate
10 Pencoed Av,
Pontypridd
CF37 4AN
UNITED KINGDOM
E-mail:

This page last updated 8 May 2008.

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