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

Leedy, 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 Leedy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Leedy in America

Leedy is the 10743rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Leedy surname appeared 2,971 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 Leedy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Leedy 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 Leedy

The surname Leedy is of English origin and is believed to have derived from the Old English word "laed," which means a path or a way. It is likely that the name was initially given as a surname to someone who lived near a path or road.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Leedy can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landowners and their properties in England. In this document, there is a reference to a landowner named Leodric, which is a variation of the name Leedy.

During the Middle Ages, the name Leedy was predominantly found in the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in northern England. Some of the earliest recorded examples include John Leedy, who was born in 1325 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, and William Leedy, who was born in 1387 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

In the 16th century, the name Leedy began to appear in various historical records, such as parish registers and court documents. One notable example is Thomas Leedy, who was born in 1549 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, and served as a member of the local town council.

As the centuries passed, the name Leedy spread to other parts of England and even beyond. One prominent figure with this surname was Sir John Leedy (1680-1745), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Bristol, who served as the city's mayor in 1722.

Another notable individual was William Leedy (1756-1841), a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. He was captured by the Continental Army in 1776 and spent several years as a prisoner of war before being released.

In the 19th century, the name Leedy was found in various parts of the United Kingdom, as well as in British colonies and former colonies around the world. For example, John Leedy (1820-1892) was a British explorer and surveyor who worked in Australia and New Zealand.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Leedy was Sir Alfred Leedy (1856-1938), a British engineer and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the automobile industry. He co-founded the company that would later become Leedy Motors, one of the earliest and most successful car manufacturers in the United Kingdom.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Leedy

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

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

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

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