1) Occupational for a woodman or carpenter, the specialist who split timber trees into the pieces used for boards, that is thin planks.
The by-name and occupational term occur together in the West Riding poll tax: 1379 Henricus de Werldlay, bordclever, Follifoot
1379 Robertus Burdeclener [sic], Wistow. As a by-name or surname it survived into the sixteenth century at least: 1438 Robert Burdeclener [sic], Snaith
1471-1521 William Burdclever, William Bordclever, York. Reaney interpreted this as ‘bird-catcher’, quoting the following Yorkshire example: 1427 Robert Birdclever, East Keswick but the name often occurs in contexts where the reference is likely to have been to a carpenter: 1442 ‘And for the service of … Richard Bordclever … one day and a half repairing faults in the building’, Selby.