This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the legh'; v. Lee. The reason why Leigh has so much larger a representation in the Manchester Directory than that of London lies in the fact that Leigh, a parish in South Lancashire, early gave rise to a family name that has very strongly ramified. Of course the origin of the name is the same. The 'i' in Leigh was inserted in more recent times.

Pagan a la Legh, Wiltshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Richard de la Legh, Oxfordshire, ibid.

John de Legh, Devon, ibid.

Avelina de la Legh, Surrey, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

An old Cheshire family still preserve the old form Legh.

1580. Thomas Legh, of Atherton: Wills at Chester.

1617. Jane Leigh, of High Leigh, widow: ibid.

1636. William Legh, of Bolton, linendraper: ibid.

(English) 1 Dweller at a Meadow or Pasture [Middle English ley(e, lay(e, lea, le(i)gh; Old English leáh, from, dat leáge; m., dat. leá] Henry de Le.—Gt. Inq. of Serv.

William de la Lea.—Hundred Rolls Ralph de la Leye.— do.

Emma de Lay.— do.

John de Leg’.— do.

Pagan a la Legh.— do.

John atte Lea.—Parl. Writs.

Adam de la Legh.— Plac. Dom. Cap. Westm.

William de la Leigh.—Parl. Writs.

The usual Latinization was de Lega.

2 Lee is also an old word for a Shelter, Sheltered Place [Middle English lee, O.E, hléo]

V. under Lea.

An eminent Cheshire family, who for centuries have been of High Leigh, in that co., and from whom nearly all the gentry families of the name claim descent. The Leighs are as prolific as they are ancient, if we may trust the well-known Cheshire proverb: —

Local. A town in England, a pasture or meadow, the same as Ley, or Lea. The frequency of this family name in Cheshire, England, led to the old proverb, "As many Leighs as fleas, Masseys as asses, and Davenports as dog's tails."

Lee: (Anglo-Saxon leah, m.), a fallow pasturage, but leah, f., signifies a rough woodland pasture. Local names being usually in the dative, lea for leah (m.) is nominally the source of the suffix ley. This word enters into endless compositions, as Stanley, Calverley, Wesley, Hadleigh, Berkley, Leyton, etc. It is found as a surname in all forms. There is a saying in reference to the extension of the name: “As many Lees As there be fleas.”

The Leighs or Leghs are old and often distinguished Cheshire families that carry their pedigrees several centuries back; amongst the principal stocks are those of Lyme, Adlington, and High Leigh (O.). The Leghs of Lyme are connected with those of Haydock in Lancashire, an ancient knightly family. High Leigh and Little Leigh are Cheshire villages.

The Leighs take their name from the Lancashire town. The ancient and knightly family of Legh, of Haydock, Lancashire, and of Lyme, Cheshire, carries its pedigree back to the 15th century (B.). The name is frequent in Cheshire.

The surname Lee is a variant of Lea. This is a place name coming from the Old English word ‘leah’, which means ‘wood, glade, clearing, field or pasture’. The related surnames Legh and Leigh are usually from the Middle English form of the word, ‘legh’-though they do occasionally derive from the older source. However, contrary to appearances, these latter Leighs (and Leghs) are not closer derivations of the Old English source than the Lees and Leas. ‘Lea’ is the dative of the Old English ‘Leah’, and was used after prepositions such as ‘at’ or ‘in’. It was common practice to refer to someone who lived by a particular place as living ‘at’ it-as, for example, in John at Lee. Thus we get the name Atlee.

Other variations on the name come from the Old English ‘laege’ meaning ‘fallow’, and ‘laes’ meaning ‘meadow’. These include Ley, Leys, Laye, Lye, Lees, and such obvious rural compounds as Leabrook.

Early references to Lee abound in the records from the twelfth century onwards, and are found all over England. One of the earliest is to an Ailric de la Leie, who appears in the early Charters for Norfolk covering the years 1148—66.

Gypsy Rose Lee (1904—70) was the greatest strip-tease artist of them all, bringing wit, style and grace to this profession unmatched since Salome. After retiring she wrote the best-selling autobiography Gypsy, and then wrote two further best-sellers The G-String Murders (1941) and Mother finds a Body (1942). During World War II she returned to the stage to strip for war-bonds.

The Lee Commission was appointed by the British Govern­ment in 1923 to consider the racial composition of India’s higher government services. As a result of its recommendations, when India became independent in 1947 over half of the 1,000 members of these services were Indians with long experience.

Lee’s Professor is the holder of one of three chairs at Oxford.

England’s Prime Ministers, past and present, owe a debt of gratitude to Arthur Hamilton Lee-he left them his estate, Chequers, for use as a country house.

Poet and novelist Laurie Lee based books like Cider with Rosie and As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning on his deep love and understanding of rural Gloucestershire, where he grew up.

Manfred B. Lee is better known by his pseudonym, Ellery Queen. Together with Frederic Dannay, he wrote murder mysteries which often featured a break just before the end, inviting the reader to see if he could solve the crime before the fictional detective announced the solution.

Lees seem to have a predilection for achieving fame on the stage. Amongst the best known of these are Christopher Lee, maestro of the Hammer horror films, Bruce Lee the great Kung Fu hero, and Vivien Leigh, one-time wife of Laurence Olivier, who played Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind.

Robert E. Lee was the only general in history to have been offered the command of both armies in a war. He turned down the offer of the Union command and went on to become the legendary leader of the Southern Army during the American Civil War. His family produced several other outstanding military commanders. Robert’s father, Henry ‘Light-Horse’ Lee, was a close aide to George Washington, and Henry’s eldest son, also called Henry, distinguished himself in the War of 1812.

English clergyman William Lee (1550—1610) invented the first knitting machine. The woman he was courting showed far more interest in knitting than in his attentions, and this was his solution.

A total of 25 towns and cities in the United Kingdom are related to this name including 5 towns called Lee, 2 Leeds, and 2 named Lees. While Canada is Lee-less the United States has 26 name-related towns and cities. Denmark also has a town called Lee. The name is geographically common.

With about 119,000 namesakes Lee is the 42nd most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Lee is notably popular in and around Sheffield where an estimated one in about 415 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Bradford, Leeds and Nottingham are other Lee strongholds. Around the world Lees are most common in Vancouver (one in 308 families), Toronto (one in 419) and Sydney (one in 547). The United States has more Lees than the entire population of Bristol-an estimated total of just under 429,000 makes this their 35th most popular surname.