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

Legge, 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 Legge surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Legge in America

Legge is the 14332nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Legge surname appeared 2,088 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 Legge.

We can also compare 2010 data for Legge 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 Legge

The surname Legge is an English habitational name that originated from places called Legges or Legge in Kent and Worcestershire. The name is derived from the Old English word 'lecg', meaning a grassy slope or meadow.

The earliest recorded spelling of the surname Legge dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'de Legge'. This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.

During the Middle Ages, the Legge family held significant landholdings in the counties of Kent and Worcestershire. One notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Legge (c. 1415-1472), a Member of Parliament for Kent during the Wars of the Roses.

In the 16th century, the Legge family established themselves as prominent landowners and politicians in the county of Norfolk. William Legge (1562-1607), a Member of Parliament for Norfolk, was the first of many Legges to represent the county in the House of Commons.

The most famous member of the Legge family was George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth (1647-1691), an English statesman and naval commander who served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and Master-General of the Ordnance under King Charles II and King James II.

Other notable individuals with the surname Legge include:

1. Thomas Legge (1535-1607), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1604 to 1607.

2. Edward Legge (1663-1720), an English naval officer and Member of Parliament who served as the Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1693 to 1695.

3. William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth (1672-1750), an English nobleman and politician who served as the Secretary of State for the Southern Department from 1710 to 1713.

4. Henry Bilson Legge (1708-1764), an English lawyer and politician who served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1757 to 1761.

5. Heneage Legge (1704-1759), an English soldier and politician who served as the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1757 to 1759.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Legge

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

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

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

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