2000
#10,107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,936
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Leedy
Derived from the Old English word "lēode," meaning "people," likely referring to a popular or well-known person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,141 Americans carry the last name Leedy. That puts it at #11,070 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,123 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leedy surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 109,123
Census rank
#11,070
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,739 bearers of the surname Leedy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11070th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leedy, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leedy
Among Census respondents with the surname Leedy, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Leedy bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Leedy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,537
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 72
- Two or more races2.6% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- Black or African American0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leedy
Leedy appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,743
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,971
+35 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 636 places
2020
#11,070
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,739
-232 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 327 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,107 | 2,936 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,743 | 2,971 | 1.01 | +35 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 636 places |
| 2020 | #11,070 | 2,739 | 0.92 | -232 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 327 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Leedy surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,743 | #11,070 | -3.0% |
| Count | 2,971 | 2,739 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.92 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leedy bearers went from 2,971 to 2,739 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 327 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,743 to #11,070.
FAQ
Leedy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leedy?
Name Census estimates that about 3,141 living Americans carry the surname Leedy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,123 residents.
How common is Leedy?
Leedy ranks #11,070 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,739 people with the surname Leedy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,141), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Leedy.
Has Leedy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leedy went from 2,971 recorded bearers to 2,739. That is a decrease of 232 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,743 to #11,070.
What does the Census say about the background of Leedy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leedy, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Leedy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,537 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leedy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Leedy (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Leedy mean?
Derived from the Old English word "lēode," meaning "people," likely referring to a popular or well-known person. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Leedy (0.92 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Leedy?
If you just want to know how many people are called Leedy, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.