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

Leath, 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 Leath surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leath in America

Leath is the 9628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leath surname appeared 3,372 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Leath.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leath 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 Leath

The surname LEATH is an English habitational name derived from the Old English word "lēah" meaning a meadow, wood, or clearing. It originates from various areas in England where people hailed from places called "Leath" or similar variations.

The name can be traced back to the 11th century Domesday Book, which recorded land ownership in England after the Norman Conquest. Entries such as "Walterus de Leia" and "Rogerus de Leia" suggest early bearers of the name resided in locations with names like "Leigh" or "Ley."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire from 1195, which mention a "Radulphus de Leye." Another early example is "Walter de la Lye" appearing in the Curia Regis Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1212.

The surname has seen various spellings over the centuries, including Leath, Leith, Leeth, Leyth, and Leth. Some notable bearers of the name throughout history include:

1. John Leith (c. 1565-1629), a Scottish philosopher and mathematician.
2. Sir James Leath (1603-1671), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1666.
3. Alexander Leith (1758-1835), a Scottish politician and landowner.
4. Robert Leath (1767-1833), an English clergyman and author.
5. William Leath (1837-1909), an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of North Carolina from 1897 to 1901.

Several place names in England, such as Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire and Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, are believed to have contributed to the formation of the surname LEATH, as people migrated from these locations and adopted the place name as their family name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leath

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

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 Leath 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 Leath 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 Leath was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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