Family History

Definition:

• 1) The surname LEA, including the common alternate spelling LEE,was originally given to a person who lived in or near a "laye," Middle English meaning 'clearing in the woods.'
• 2) Possibly a modern form of the ancient Irish name "O'Liathain.".

Surname Origin:

Alternate Surname Spellings:

What does the name mean?

• English: topographic name for someone who lived near a meadow or a patch of arable land, Middle English lee, lea, from Old English lea, dative case (used after a preposition) of leah, which originally meant "wood" or "glade".
• English: habitational name from any of the many places named with Old English leah "wood", "glade", as for example Lee in Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, and Shropshire, and Lea in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, and Wiltshire.
• Irish: reduced Americanized form of Ó Laoidhigh "descendant of Laoidheach", a personal name derived from laoidh "poem", "song" (originally a byname for a poet).