2000
#44,350
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 457
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Leetch
An English topographical surname referring to someone living near a public path or roadway.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 626 Americans carry the last name Leetch. That puts it at #42,735 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 547,531 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leetch 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
626
1 in 547,531
Census rank
#42,735
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
546
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 546 bearers of the surname Leetch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 42735th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leetch, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leetch
The surname Leetch is believed to have originated in Scotland, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is likely derived from the Old English word "leac," meaning "leek," suggesting that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for a leek farmer or seller.
One of the earliest known references to the name Leetch can be found in the Scottish Episcopal Church records from the late 16th century, where several individuals with variations of the spelling, such as Leitch, Leech, and Leitche, are mentioned.
In the 17th century, the surname Leetch began to appear in various Scottish parish records and legal documents, often associated with the areas around Glasgow, Lanarkshire, and the Scottish Borders. The name may have connections to specific places like Leith, a historic town near Edinburgh, or Leitholm, a village in the Scottish Borders.
Notable bearers of the surname Leetch include William Leitch (1610-1679), a Scottish minister and author who served as the Principal of King's College, Aberdeen. Another prominent figure was Sir John Leetch (1733-1816), a Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1789 to 1791.
In the 19th century, the Leetch surname spread beyond Scotland, with many individuals emigrating to other parts of the United Kingdom, as well as to North America and Australia. One notable bearer was Alexander Leitch (1825-1892), a Scottish-born architect who designed several notable buildings in Melbourne, Australia.
Another notable individual was James Leetch (1844-1925), a Scottish-born civil engineer who worked on various railway projects in India and was awarded the prestigious Telford Medal by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1908.
As the name spread across different regions, variations in spelling emerged, such as Leitch, Leitche, and Leach, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic influences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leetch
Among Census respondents with the surname Leetch, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Leetch 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 Leetch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 483
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 28
- Two or more races4.2% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 8
- Black or African American0.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leetch
Leetch 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
#48,800
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 432
-25 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 4,450 places
2020
#42,735
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 546
+114 bearers (+26.4%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Up 6,065 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #44,350 | 457 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #48,800 | 432 | 0.15 | -25 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 4,450 places |
| 2020 | #42,735 | 546 | 0.18 | +114 bearers (+26.4%) | Up 6,065 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 Leetch 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 | #48,800 | #42,735 | 12.4% |
| Count | 432 | 546 | 26.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.18 | 21.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leetch bearers went from 432 to 546 (+26.4% change). The surname moved up 6,065 positions in the national ranking, going from #48,800 to #42,735.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Leetch
FAQ
Leetch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leetch?
Name Census estimates that about 626 living Americans carry the surname Leetch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 547,531 residents.
How common is Leetch?
Leetch ranks #42,735 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 546 people with the surname Leetch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (626), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Leetch.
Has Leetch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leetch went from 432 recorded bearers to 546. That is an increase of 114 (+26.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #48,800 to #42,735.
What does the Census say about the background of Leetch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leetch, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Leetch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (483 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leetch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Leetch (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 Leetch mean?
An English topographical surname referring to someone living near a public path or roadway. 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 Leetch (0.18 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 are called Leetch?
Want to know how many people have the last name Leetch? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.