Fairclough Family History

English (Lancashire): from one or more lost or unidentified places probably in Lancashire named with Middle English fair(e) ‘beautiful’ + clo(u)gh ‘narrow valley ravine’ (see Clough). Fairclough Farm in Chipping, Lancashire is a candidate for the surname's origin although early forms of the placename are lacking.

A number of the earliest bearers came from Shevington, Lancashire, where the narrow valley of the River Douglas may perhaps have been known in the medieval period as Fairclough.