Leefe Surname

666,162nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 450 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Australia
Highest density in:
New Zealand

Leefe Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the lief,' i.e. dear; v. Leifchild. The diminutive lief-kin, a term of endearment.

Pagan Lef, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Alice le Lef, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Lone the Lef, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Read More About This Surname

Leefe Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Australia1011:267,28424,253
England1011:551,66433,983
United States931:3,897,408212,857
Canada611:604,02649,778
New Zealand571:79,44411,532
Wales171:182,03112,022
Switzerland151:547,52838,365
France11:66,422,722504,397
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland11:4,429,86640,727
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England831:293,67920,037
Scotland41:935,80421,348
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States271:1,859,95194,590

Leefe Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the lief,' i.e. dear; v. Leifchild. The diminutive lief-kin, a term of endearment.

Pagan Lef, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Alice le Lef, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Lone the Lef, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Nicholas Leve, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Lucia Te Lyf, Somerset, l Edward III: ibid.

1677. Married — Richard Owen and Susanna Leefe: St. Michael, Cornhill.

1754. — James Leaf and Elizabeth Clarke: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

V. Leaf.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

From Anglo-Saxon leóf, dear, beloved, precious. Ferguson says there was a Leof, assassin of King Edmund, who sadly belied his name; and that Liúfa and Liufina are respectively male and female names in the Landnamabok. Hence the name Life.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

From Liff; a location name in Forfar (?).

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Leefe Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Leefe Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Leefe is found in Australia more than any other country/territory. It can occur as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Leefe? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 666,162nd most frequently occurring surname internationally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 16,194,546 people. Leefe occurs predominantly in Oceania, where 35 percent of Leefe reside; 35 percent reside in Australasia and 35 percent reside in Australia and New Zealand.

The last name is most common in Australia, where it is carried by 101 people, or 1 in 267,284. In Australia it is mostly found in: New South Wales, where 72 percent are found, Queensland, where 17 percent are found and Australian Capital Territory, where 5 percent are found. Apart from Australia this last name exists in 11 countries. It also occurs in England, where 22 percent are found and The United States, where 21 percent are found.

Leefe Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Leefe has changed over time. In England the number of people who held the Leefe last name grew 122 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it grew 344 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Leefe Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the surname is primarily Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Leefe last name are 24.66% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 71.43% registered with the party.

The amount Leefe earn in different countries varies notably. In United States they earn 8.73% more than the national average, earning $46,916 USD per year and in Canada they earn 8.05% less than the national average, earning $45,686 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Leefer9140/
Leef89945/
Lefe89346/
Leeffer831/
Lefer801,098/
Leafe80778/
Lefeu80280/
Lefez80174/
Leffe80139/
Leife8059/
Lefea8048/
Lefet8047/
Lefey8031/
Lefee8031/
Lefes8030/
Lepfe8017/
Lefeh8013/
Leefa807/
Leefi807/
Lefei805/
Lehfe802/
Liefe802/
Hlefe802/
Lewfe801/
Leefs801/
Lehef801/
Laefe801/
Leyfe800/
Leggeffe771/
Leeaffer770/
Leehafer770/
Lef75301/
Leifer733,173/
Leffer73476/
Loepfe73370/
Leyfer73337/
Leffet73251/
Lefeez73110/
Leufer73102/
Leafer7369/
Leafey7344/
Lefeat7338/
Lehfer7328/
Lejfer7328/
Lueffe7319/
Lefeea7315/
Leffei7315/
Laheef7312/
Lesfer7312/
Gliefe738/
Leyefa737/
Leifey736/
Lefe'e736/
Leephe735/
Leffey733/
Leeeew733/
Letfer732/
Lefeer732/
Leferr732/
Leaffe732/
Lehafe732/
Leffeu732/
Letfee732/
Leipfe731/
Lephee731/
Lefehr731/
Lefeid731/
Leffes731/
Leafea731/
Lleufe731/
Leifet731/
Lefeae731/
Lefech731/
Lefeet731/
Leffed731/
Leefay731/
Leufeu731/
Lieffe731/
Liefie731/
Leiffe731/
Llefet730/
Hlefer730/
Leaf676,194/
Leeb675,481/
Leff674,232/
Lefa671,732/
Life67953/
Leif67901/
Lief67820/
Left67809/
Lefi67630/
Lafe67482/
Lofe67278/
Leiffer67191/
Leew67177/
Leuf67107/
Leyf6764/
Leev6763/
Leaffer6762/
Lefy6733/
Lauefer6730/
Leuffer6721/
Leyffer6715/
Lepf6713/
Leifeit676/
Lyfe674/
Leiffet674/
Lefs673/
Hleephe672/
Lefp672/
Letf672/
Laieefa671/
Leffets671/
Lehfeah671/
Hlef671/
Leafeez671/
Lesf671/
Lefé671/
Lejf671/
Lefz671/
Leffett670/
Leifett670/
Leyfest670/
Lewfest670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Leefe
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis