Last Name LEE

Summary/Contribute


Meaning	Local: At the lea, from 'ley,' 'legh,' 'lea,' or 'lay,' a meadow, a grassy plain. The local names with which this word is incorporated as affix or suffix are innumerable: Leighton, Eckersley, Leyburn, etc. The local surnames built upon it are equally numerous, comprising (without adducing compound forms) Lee, Lees, Leese, Leece, Legg, Legge, Legs, Leigh, Ley, Lay, and Lea, all of which see under their respective heads. A pasture, meadow, lands not plowed, a common, a sheltered place; 'Lee,' a river, a stream, from 'Lli,' Welsh, a stream. Local: At the lea, from 'ley,' 'legh,' or 'lay,' a meadow, a grassy plain. The local names with which this word is incorporated as affix or suffix are innumerable. Of itself also it represents countless spots styled Lee, Lees, Lea, etc. The local surnames built upon it are equally numerous, comprising Lee, Lees, Leese, Leece, Legg, Legge, Legh, Leigh, Ley, Lay, and Lea.

Origin	English, Jewish, Korean, Norwegian, Native American, Irish, Falkland, Ugandan, Maori, Chinese, Belgian, South african, Hungarian, Indonesian

Rank	22 (2000 US census)	24 (1990 US census)

Count	605,860 (2000 US census)

Race / ethnic distribution

The 2000 US Census claims that

40.09%, or 242889 total occurrences, of those with this family name identified themselves as being white,
17.41%, or 105480 total occurrences, as black,
37.83%, or 229197 total occurrences, as Asian and Pacific Islander,
1.03%, or 6240 total occurrences, as American Indian and Native Alaskan,
2.3%, or 13935 total occurrences, as two or more races, and
1.34%, or 8119 total occurrences, as Hispanic ethnic origin.

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