Lief Surname

422,566th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 820 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
United States

Lief 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

Lief Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5441:666,28553,204
Germany1041:774,09157,434
England401:1,392,95161,553
South Africa331:1,641,74981,435
France291:2,290,439180,028
Netherlands181:938,17663,634
Canada151:2,456,373146,130
Argentina101:4,274,341152,056
Belgium51:2,299,329106,824
Israel41:2,139,40895,907
Egypt41:22,983,93862,368
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Thailand21:35,319,172966,191
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England81:3,046,92180,371
Wales21:784,20816,349
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States291:1,731,67989,620

Lief (1,125) may also be a first name.

Lief 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. under 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

Lief Last Name Facts

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

The last name Lief occurs more in The United States more than any other country or territory. It can also be found in the variant forms:. Click here for other possible spellings of Lief.

How Common Is The Last Name Lief? popularity and diffusion

It is the 422,566th most frequently used surname throughout the world, held by around 1 in 8,887,251 people. It occurs mostly in The Americas, where 68 percent of Lief are found; 67 percent are found in North America and 67 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Lief is also the 237,583rd most frequently held first name in the world It is held by 1,125 people.

This surname is most commonly used in The United States, where it is borne by 544 people, or 1 in 666,285. In The United States Lief is primarily concentrated in: New York, where 22 percent are found, California, where 13 percent are found and Florida, where 11 percent are found. Barring The United States this last name exists in 20 countries. It is also found in Germany, where 13 percent are found and England, where 5 percent are found.

Lief Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Lief has changed through the years. In The United States the share of the population with the last name increased 1,876 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 500 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it contracted 50 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Lief Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those holding the Lief last name are 5.49% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 58.72% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Lief earn in different countries varies significantly. In South Africa they earn 5.92% more than the national average, earning R 251,712 per year; in United States they earn 30.64% more than the national average, earning $56,369 USD per year and in Canada they earn 3.18% less than the national average, earning $48,103 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Lieff89232/
Laief897/
Glief892/
Liefe892/
Luief891/
Liefs890/
Lif861,431/
Lef86301/
Liaeff8012/
Laiief801/
Lieffe801/
Liaief801/
Laieef801/
Liew7586,620/
Lieb7512,758/
Leaf756,194/
Leff754,232/
Loef751,226/
Life75953/
Leef75945/
Leif75901/
Luef75815/
Left75809/
Liff75740/
Luif75474/
Liev75398/
Lefe75346/
Laif75226/
Leuf75107/
Leyf7564/
Lifh7545/
Lipf7543/
Lift7528/
Loif7518/
Liif7517/
Lepf7513/
Lijf759/
Laef758/
Livf757/
Hlif756/
Lisf755/
Lifs754/
Lefs753/
Lihf752/
Litf752/
Liwf752/
Lhif752/
Lefp752/
Letf752/
Lyef751/
Hlef751/
Lesf751/
Lizf751/
Liyf751/
Lgif751/
Lidf751/
Lejf751/
Lefz751/
Liof750/
Laieb676,894/
Liyew673,247/
Leafe67778/
Loeff67723/
Leefe67450/
Liyev67347/
Leffe67139/
Luijf6768/
Leife6759/
Liyeb6749/
Leaff6748/
Laitf6744/
Leipf6743/
Lefft6742/
Lioew6732/
Laiev6722/
Laiif6719/
Lepfe6717/
Lehaf6715/
Liyft6714/
Leffs6714/
Leiff6713/
Luiyf6712/
Lueff6712/
Leftt6711/
Liheb6710/
Leifs679/
Laife679/
Gliev678/
Lliff678/
Layif677/
Liffe676/
Leift676/
Lievw676/
Layef675/
Lieph674/
Lliev673/
Lawef673/
Lehfe672/
Lepfh672/
Lajif672/
Hlefe672/
Hleif672/
Leiev671/
Luisf671/
Loiev671/
Lijev671/
Liyaf671/
Lewfe671/
Lettf671/
Leafs671/
Leaif671/
Leefs671/
Laiff671/
Lehef671/
Loife671/
Hlift671/
Leitf671/
Leffz671/
Liieb671/
Liiev671/
Leuff671/
Lhieb671/
Luiof671/
Loevf671/
Lieww671/
Lihff671/
Liiew671/
Lijjf671/
Laaef671/
Lehzf671/
Hlefh671/
Liphe670/
Hleff670/
Lifft670/
Leyfe670/

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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 Lief
  • 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