Find out how popular the last name Leap is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Leap.

Leap, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Leap surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leap in America

Leap is the 21470th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leap surname appeared 1,217 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Leap.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leap to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Leap

The surname LEAP is believed to have originated in the British Isles, specifically in England and Scotland. It is thought to have derived from an Old English word 'hleapian' or the Middle English word 'lepen', both meaning 'to jump' or 'to leap'. This suggests the name may have been given as a nickname to someone known for their agility or leaping ability.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname LEAP can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as 'Lepe', likely a variation in spelling.

In the 13th century, the name LEAP was found in various records across England, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a Robert Lepe was mentioned. The surname was also present in Scotland during this time, with records showing a David Leyp in the county of Fife in 1296.

The LEAP surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir William Leap, a prominent English landowner who lived in Somersetshire during the 15th century (c. 1420-1489). Another was John Leap, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Edinburgh who was active in the early 17th century (c. 1580-1645).

In the 18th century, Thomas Leap (1734-1809) was a British clergyman and author, known for his works on theology and philosophy. During the same period, James Leap (1756-1823) was a Scottish architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Edinburgh.

Moving into the 19th century, one of the most notable individuals with the LEAP surname was Sir Thomas Leap (1811-1892), a British politician and Member of Parliament who served as the Lord Mayor of London from 1873 to 1874.

Throughout its history, the LEAP surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Leap Valley in Cumbria, England, and Leap Castle in County Offaly, Ireland, which both likely derived their names from the Old English or Middle English words related to 'leap' or 'leaping'.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leap

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Leap.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Leap was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Leap has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Leap was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Leap, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!