AbeBooks.com. Thousands of booksellers - millions of books.

There are approximately 147,229 people named Lee in the UK. That makes it the 37th most common surname overall. Out of every million people in the UK, approximately 2,330 are named Lee.

Region of origin

British Isles

Country of origin

England

Language of origin

English

Religion of origin

Christian

Classification

English
Location or Geographical Feature

Related and similar surnames

Atlee
Atley
Lea
Ley
Lay
Lae
Laye
Leeb
Leed
Leef
Leep
Leer
Leek
Laes
Leas
La
Leee
Leei
Leea
Leeii
Leae
Laee
Leeo
Leeas
Leeis
Leegh
L'E
Leeh
Laae
Leeghe
Leeigh
Leeau
Leeaa
Leaes
Leehe
Leeah

The Lee surname in historical dictionaries

Patronymica Britannica (1860)

LEE. Itself a surname, with the various modifications Atte-Legh (now Atlee) Lea, Ley, Lighe, Lye, &c., is undeniably the A- Sax. leak. It is, as Professor Leo observes, the equivalent of " the old I-Iigh German I6h, and corresponds literally (allowing for the recognized modification) with the Latiu hiois; but whilst leak may enclose a thicket, or indeed an actual wood, it has a yet more general meaning, and may denote such an open field as would be rendered campus.'' Williams's Translation, Treatise on Local Nomenclature, 1852. Lea, the modern English word, signifies, however, meadow, pasture, or grass land. Nor must it be forgotten that the A-Sax. leag or leah, has a totally different meaning, implying a territory or district in which a particular law or custom was in force. This term, varied in different M'ays, as lagv. levga, and lon-cy, Avas i-etained for centuries after the incoming of the Normans, to denote a particular liberty, franchise, or district, as the league of Battel Abliey, the lonry of Pevensey, the h)vcy of Tunbridge, &c. To some or all of these sources, we are indebted for a very large proportion of our local, and consequently of our family nomenclature in South Britain, for— " In Ford, in Ham, in Ley, and Ton, The most of English Snrnames run."

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.

Your comments on the Lee surname

comments powered by Disqus