Leith Surname

54,645th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 9,313 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Leith Surname Definition:

From the town or territory of Leith, Midlothian. There are three fables in circulation, says Stodart, as to the history of the Leiths. (1) That they held the barony of Restalrig, and that that property was carried by an heiress to an ancestor of the Logans of Restalrig.

Read More About This Surname

Leith Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,2631:111,08112,079
England1,3011:42,8275,460
Scotland1,0601:5,051847
Canada9151:40,2685,020
Australia8111:33,2874,393
New Zealand4301:10,5311,833
South Africa3861:140,35716,160
Iran2321:330,95922,609
Trinidad and Tobago1811:7,5361,114
Jamaica1321:21,7421,834
Paraguay1111:65,1961,750
Northern Ireland781:23,6542,695
Wales501:61,8915,534
Dominican Republic461:226,8038,136
Germany371:2,175,823115,720
Israel341:251,69522,987
Peru261:1,222,46620,703
Argentina221:1,942,88297,983
Iraq211:1,667,69816,789
Mexico191:6,532,95832,927
Singapore171:323,98313,856
France131:5,109,440259,941
Zimbabwe121:1,286,52073,455
Netherlands111:1,535,19878,311
Jersey101:9,9202,003
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Sweden91:1,094,08481,336
United Arab Emirates81:1,145,28440,289
Thailand71:10,091,192512,203
Switzerland61:1,368,81977,571
Tunisia61:101,77114,710
Brazil61:35,679,055486,536
Norway41:1,285,57269,185
Algeria41:9,657,88864,782
China41:341,830,39216,990
Oman21:1,843,9869,590
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
Papua New Guinea21:4,076,858165,791
Ireland21:2,354,47019,715
Belgium21:5,748,322130,559
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Cayman Islands11:63,8932,384
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Yemen11:26,425,29455,147
Bolivia11:10,616,43417,077
Vanuatu11:263,2762,086
Isle of Man11:85,8224,091
Ivory Coast11:23,071,23276,679
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Jordan11:8,842,43726,010
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
South Sudan11:11,415,0763,182
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Nepal11:28,480,95622,413
Senegal11:14,579,34211,705
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland1211:36,6103,442
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland1,1351:3,298550
England4161:58,5956,887
Wales51:313,68310,604
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5451:92,1449,460

Leith (3,259) may also be a first name.

Leith Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

From the town or territory of Leith, Midlothian. There are three fables in circulation, says Stodart, as to the history of the Leiths. (1) That they held the barony of Restalrig, and that that property was carried by an heiress to an ancestor of the Logans of Restalrig. (2) Restalrig gave a surname to its early owners, and it is not till the fifteenth century that Leiths are to be found holding some lands there; they were burgesses of Edinburgh and gave their name to Leith Wynd. (3) The founder of the family of Leith of Harthill in the parish of Oyne, was William de Lethe, burgess of Aberdeen, which he represented in parliament, 1367 (Stodart, II) William Leythe, burgess of Aberdeen, 1342 (St. Nicholas Chartulary, p. 12), is mentioned again in 1363 as William de Leth (REA., II, p. 283). Laurence de Leth was alderman of Aberdeen, 1388 (CAB., p. 380). Gilbert of Leth was custumar of Edinburgh, 1327, and John de Lethe was provost of Linlithgow, 1330 (ER., I, p. 81,273). Thomas of Leth appears as witness in Kirkwaw (Kirkwall), 1391 (Dipl. Noro., II, p. 402). Robert de Leitht was admitted burgess of Aberdeen, 1406 (NSCM., I, p. 2), and John of Lethe had safe conduct in England for one month, 1420 (Bain, IV 899). Leithe 1641, Leyth 1601, Leytht 1584.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Celtic) belonging to Leith (Scotland), early forms Inverleith, Inverlet = the Mouth of the (River) Leith [Gaelic inbhir, a river-mouth, confluence: the river-name is prob. the Gaelic leath-an = Irish leath-an (Old Irish leth-an)-Welsh lled, llyd-an = Breton led-an, broad, wide (cp. Leithen Water, Peebles] There is also a Leith River in West­moreland.

(Teutonic) Dweller at a Slope or Hill- Side [Old English and Old Norse hlíð] Cp. Leith Hill in Surrey; and Leath.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish) One who formerly resided in the town or territory of Leith (overflow), in Midlothian.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

"The surname of Leith is of great antiquity in Scotland, and those who bore it held, in a remote era, vast possessions, including the barony of Restalrig, and others in the shire of Mid-Lothian, and territory of Leith, whence, it is presumed, the name was taken." B.L.G. The pedigree is traced only to the year 1350. The baronet's family descend from William Leith, who was provost of Aberdeen in 1350. According to Douglas there were at the latter end of the last century six distinct families of Leith, all of whom could trace their origin to that personage. Courthope's Debrett.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local: from the town of Leith in Edinburghshire. The family are descended from William Leith, temp. David Bruce.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

Leith Last Name Facts

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

The surname Leith is most common in The United States. It may also be found as a variant:. For other potential spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Leith? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 54,645th most widely held last name in the world It is held by around 1 in 782,513 people. This last name occurs mostly in The Americas, where 49 percent of Leith live; 44 percent live in North America and 42 percent live in Anglo-North America. Leith is also the 125,472nd most frequently occurring given name throughout the world, borne by 3,259 people.

The last name is most frequent in The United States, where it is carried by 3,263 people, or 1 in 111,081. In The United States it is mostly found in: Maryland, where 8 percent are found, California, where 8 percent are found and Washington, where 5 percent are found. Beside The United States Leith exists in 60 countries. It is also common in England, where 14 percent are found and Scotland, where 11 percent are found.

Leith Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Leith has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Leith last name expanded 599 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 313 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it contracted 7 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 1,000 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 98 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Leith Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the Leith surname is principally Presbyterian (71%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Leith last name are 9.88% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 56.65% registered with the party.

The amount Leith earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 73.5% more than the national average, earning 600,455 kr per year; in Peru they earn 40.55% less than the national average, earning S/. 11,524 per year; in South Africa they earn 10.47% less than the national average, earning R 212,748 per year; in United States they earn 5.95% more than the national average, earning $45,716 USD per year and in Canada they earn 13.61% more than the national average, earning $56,444 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Leitch9115,697/
Leithe91538/
Leiths9153/
Lejith911/
Leitth911/
Leyith911/
Leuith910/
Leitsh910/
Leth893,985/
Lith89734/
Leit89649/
Leitsch831,075/
Leithch831/
Leejith831/
Leite80514,653/
Leist806,260/
Leath804,808/
Leeth801,686/
Laith801,363/
Letch801,050/
Lieth80375/
Lethe80245/
Leuth80165/
Lithe8092/
Loith8069/
Leidt8047/
Leyth8046/
Leitt8046/
Lyeth8037/
Leits8018/
Letth8015/
Leiot803/
Lidth803/
Liath802/
Litht801/
Lithp801/
Leidh801/
Leiet801/
Leiht801/
Lejit801/
Leitp801/
Letht801/
Lethz801/
Leyit801/
Letsh800/
Luith800/
Leithová771/
Let75158,562/
Lit753,489/
Leicht7310,110/
Letsch732,638/
Leetch731,026/
Loweth73446/
Leiste73400/
Leuthe73400/
Leitte73256/
Leatch73223/
Leijte73141/
Leathe73119/
Leuoth7350/
Leiszt7337/
Lestch7331/
Lleite7330/
Leggit7325/
Leytth7324/
Leihed7319/
Lisæth7316/
Leythe738/
Leijdt738/
Leitås737/
Layeth737/
Leiite735/
Laitch734/
Leiete734/
Laisth734/
Laithe733/
Hleite732/
Leisht732/
Lajith732/
Leuitt732/
Leethe732/
Leists732/
Loithe731/
Lesthe731/
Laiyth731/
Lejthe731/
Leaths731/
Leeths731/
Laueth731/
Liyoth731/
Loueth731/
Leistz731/
Lettch731/
Lhaith731/
Liyath731/
Lichth731/
Hlethe731/
Lleeth731/
Leidtz730/
Leitts730/
Leieet730/
Lithte730/
Leeath730/
Leittz730/
Lleath730/
Leitszsch711/
List6720,502/
Lett6711,301/
Lath679,106/
Litt674,869/
Lete674,505/
Leet673,589/
Lite673,268/
Liot672,321/
Lait672,164/
Lyth671,872/
Leid671,469/
Loit671,426/
Laet671,001/
Leat67981/
Leggitt67940/
Lets67891/
Liat67775/
Liet67639/
Luet67483/
Luit67479/
Leht67474/
Leutsch67237/
Loet67221/
Lyet67215/
Lest67139/
Leyt67115/
Lehd6786/
Laitsch6783/
Leut6777/
Lidh6775/
Liht6768/
Läth6767/
Leichte6745/
Leetsch6737/
Leihite6726/
Laheist6725/
Lidt6711/
Lizt6711/
Ledt677/
Leić676/
Leytthe675/
Hlet675/
Llet674/
Ledh672/
Leheath672/
Litp672/
Llit672/
Lejt672/
Hlit672/
Lget672/
Lhet672/
Lgit671/
Leitová671/
Leggeth671/
Legiett671/
L'Heath671/
Leitowa671/
Litd671/
Lißt671/
Lechtch671/
D'Leite671/
Letehet671/
Lijt671/
Letd671/
Leeathe670/
Laiethe670/

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Leith Reference & Research

Leath FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Leith
  • 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