from Old English, meaning 'homestead or enclosure near a hill', with the first recorded usage being Cloppaham circa 880.

Clapham appears in Domesday Book as Clopeham. It was held by Goisfrid (Geoffrey) de Mandeville, and its domesday assets were three hides, six ploughs, and 5.0 acre of meadow. It rendered £7 10s 0d, and was located in Brixton hundred.