Surnames L

is an English and Irish place name of Norman origin, derived from Lassy in Calvados, which got its name from a Gaulish given name Lascius + -acum (a local suffix). Lacey is most common in Nottinghamshire, but is found all over. Variations are Lacy, Lassey, De Lacey, De Lacy, Leacy (the last occasionally found in Ireland).

is a Scottish name taken from the term used to describe the caretaker of land under which the peasant farmers rented land and sought protection during the height of the feudal period. The laird offered protection to the serfs who fought for him when attacked by neighboring lairds. They tended to raid each other often, for livestock, and as a relief for boredom.

English Place Name, from settlements in Devon, Dorset, Essex, Kent, and Warwick in medieval times. It is derived from Old English lang + dun , which meant long hill.

is an English and Scottish Patronymic name from a Middle English pet form of the given name Lawrence; occasionally it is an English Place name for the name who lived by the hill, derived from Northern Middle English hlaw meaning hill or burial mound. Lawes and Lawson are traditional Patronymic versions of Law. Richard Law emigrated to America in 1638 and was one of the founders of Stamford, Connecticut.

English Place name from settlements common in Lancashire and Yorkshire, from Buglawton or Church Lawton in Cheshire, which derived their names from Old English hlaw meaning hill, burial mound + tun meaning enclosure, settlement. The literal meaning would be "hill settlement" and someone from that place might be identified as Lawton.

is a variation of the English surname Leyland, a place name derived from Middle English layland > Old English l¿geland meaning fallow land, uncultivated. Most bearers of the name have origins in the location so-named in Lancashire.

is an English occupational name for the doctor, from the Old English word loece (the -o and -e are attached with a long-vowel mark above, Originally, the animal was known by that term with reference to ‘healer’ rather than physicians being compared to a bloodsucker -- but times do change. Variations are Leche, Leetch, Leitch .

The surname Lea is derived from the Old English word leah , which meant 'clearing in the woods' and the ending -ley- is the second-most common among English surnames. Lee and Lea were also the names of many small towns that were in the valley or the 'clearing in the woods.'There are other versions as well.

is a variation of Lees, an English name that is derived from several sources, one of which is the same as Lee and Lea . In medieval times, the Old English word leah meant "wood" or "clearing" and the name Lee (or Lea) described the man who lived near a meadow, pasture, or patch of arable land. Leas/lees is the plural form of 'lee' which was the Middle English form of 'leah.' The man named Lees/Leas (and its variations) lived on or near the fields or pastures. Also, several settlements arose with the name Lee or Lees, and people who lived

there were often described that way, when no other description was more appropriate. There is a Lees in Ashton-under-Lyne and a Leece in Barrow-in-Furness. Occasionally, although somewhat rarely, Lees is derived as an English Matronymic name. Names taken from the mother are pretty scarce, but in the case of Lees and Lease, some derived their name from the female given

name Lece , a short form of Lettice . Finally, some with the name Lease or Lees are descended from Scots with the surname Gillies , where the first part of the name has been lost through aphesis, when a short beginning syllable is dropped through lazy pronunciation, as in squire, derived aphetically from esquire. Gillies is a Scottish Patronymic name from the Gaelic given name Gilla Iosa (servant of Jesus). Variations include Leese, Leece, Leish, Leishman, Leeson,

is a Scottish place name for the port near Edinburgh, which gets its name from the river nearby. The river name is from Gaelic lite meaning wet, similar to Welsh llaith meaning damp, moist.

Almost all given names that were around during Medieval times have continued through the ages as surnames. Leonard is one such name, the meaning of which is "lion, bold."

is a spelling variation of Lindsay, an English and Scottish Place name from Lindsey in Lincolnshire, first found in the form Lindissi , a derivative of the British name Lincoln. The Old English element eg meaningisland was added since the area was virtually cut off from the surrounding fenland. Lincey and Linsey are other variations.

is an English nickname given to the small man, or the younger of two men who bore the same given name, from Middle English littel > Old English lytel meaning little. Variations are Littell, Lyttle, Lytle, Littler.

is a spelling variation of the English place name Litton, which described the man whose original home was in one of the several so-named settlements in Medieval England, which were named from Old English hlyde meaning torrent + tun meaning enclosure, settlement, and believed to describe a settlement near a loud or roaring stream.

is an English place name from the so-named location in Lancashire, derived from Old Norse hlif meaning protection, shelter + Old English eg meaning island. Livesay, Livsey , and Livesley are variations.

is a Welsh nickname for the man with grey hair, or the man who was always seen wearing grey clothing. It comes from the Welsh word llwyd meaning grey. Variations are Loyd, Floyde, Floyd, Floyed. Bloyd, Blood , and Blud are patronymic versions of the name formed from the Welsh patronymic prefix "Ap" which meant "son of." When "Ap Lloyd" (son of Lloyd) was said quickly, the p-l often became indistinguishable from b-l. When the Ap portion was dropped many mistakenly retained the B sound to produce names such as Bloyed, Bloyd.

English Descriptive name. During early times when surnames were being adopted, the man they called Long was especially tall and lanky.

is a variation of the English place name Lumb , from any of the several so-named lcoations in Lancashire and W. Yorkshire, named from Old English lumm meaning pool > dialectic lum meaning well for water in a mine. Lum, Loom, Limb, Loombe, Lombe, Loomes are all variations.

is an English diminutive variant of the name Low, when it meant a crafty or dangerous person, a Nickname derived from the Anglo-Norman French lou meaning wolf + - el , a diminutive suffix. Lovel and Lowell are variations.

is a variation of Lowry, the English and Scottish patronymic surname, which is a deminutive form of the name Lawrence (man from Laurentum). When of Irish heritage, Lowry is derived as an Anglicised form of the Gaelic O Labhradha , "descendant of Labhradha," whose name meant 'spokesman.' Other variations are Lowrey, Lowerie, Lorrie, Lorie, Loury, Lory, Lourie ; Irish variations include O'Lowry, O'Lawry . Patronymic forms are Lowries, Lowrieson, Lorrison, Lorriman.

comes from the Old Norse term lundr meaning grove, and is an English, Swedish, and Danish Norwegian place name for a person who lived in a grove. It is also among the most popular of names adopted by the Swedes when they were compelled to take last names in the 19th century. It is also used in combination with other Swedish nature words, to form compound names such as Lundquist and Lundgren. Variations are Lunt, Lunn (English); Lundh, Lundell, Lunden, Lundin,

is an Irish patronymic name, Anglicised from the Gaelic O' Loingsigh , meaning "descendant of Loingseach" which was originally a nickname meaning "mariner." It is also derived from the Gaelic Linseach , which was a Gaelic form of the Anglo-Norman-French de Lench , a local name of Norman origin. When derived of English origin, Lynch is a place name for the man who lived on a

slope or hillside, from Old English hlinc meaning ridge, bank, rising ground. O'Lynchy, O'Lynche, O"lensie, Linchey, Linchy , are Irish variations. Linch, Lince, Linck are variations of de Lench. Diminutive forms are O'Lyneseghane, Lynchahan, Lynchehan, O'Loingseachain .