The surname Cline is local in origin, being derived, in general, from the place name Clyne in
Sutherland, Scotland. A local name was either assumed by an individual from the patrimonial
estate, if he held land, or was bestowed by others on those whose place of residence or birth it was and
who had subsequently moved. Thus, the surname denotes one who came from Clyne.
The Scottish place name Clyne is derived from the Gaelic word "claon" which means literally "slope or hillside".
Early Scottish instances of the name include a reference to William of Clyne who witnessed various
charters between the years 1350 and 1372. He is probably the same William de Clyne "nobilis vir"
(meaning "nobleman"), who appears on record in 1375 as holding the lands of Cathboll in Tarbat
of the bishop of Moray. Malcolm de Clyne, secretary of the bishop of Orkney in 1390, was also a
cleric in Moray and petitioned for a benefice in 1390, and William of Clyne of that Ilk gave "seisin"
(i.e. the act of giving legal possession of land) of the earldom of Sutherland to John, the son and
apparent heir of John, Earl of Sutherland, in 1546. Alexander Clyne in Greenland, Caithness, is
recorded in the year 1662.
Additional references to the name include a record of the christening of Charles Cline, son of Robert
Cline and Mary Wilson, which took place in Haddington, East Lothian, on the 27th of February,
1735. Michael Cline married Bridget Kennedy in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, on the 5th of November,
1843.
BLAZON OF ARMS: Azure, on a saltire argent between four garbs or, a decrescent gules.
Translation: Azure (blue) denotes Loyalty and Truth and the garb, or sheaf of wheat, Plenty.
The saltire, based on the cross of St. Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland,
denotes Perseverance and Suffering for one's faith.
CREST: A garb as in the arms.
ORIGIN: SCOTLAND.
