LESLIE
Leslie is a surname of Gaelic origin, rooted in the northern reaches of the British Isles. The surname first appears in the Scottish records as a locative name attached to the barony of Lesslyn in the Garioch district of Aberdeenshire, a territorial designation that dates back to the thirteenth century.
The derivation of the family name is widely accepted to stem from the Gaelic phrase leas celyn, which translates literally as “garden of holly.” This topographic description would have given character to the original settlement, and the habitational surname that emerged thereafter signified a lordship of the surrounding land.
Records of the name become increasingly frequent in the fourteenth century. The first documented individual bearing the Leslie surname is Robert de Leslie, a rector of the church at Slains. His reference, dated 1272, falls within the reign of Alexander III, and shows how the name had been established among the rural clergy of Scotland by the late twelfth or early thirteenth century.
By the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries the Leslie family had risen to prominent positions within the Scottish aristocracy. Sir Norman de Leslie, a witness to a charter in Fife in 1178, is recorded as an early ancestor of the line, while in 1425 a Norman de Leslie was held as a hostage for the king. The family held numerous hereditary titles, such as the Lords of Lindores, Newark, Leven and the barony of Leslie itself, and accrued at least twenty‑nine grants of arms over the centuries.
The heraldic symbol traditionally associated with the clan is a silver shield charged with a blue bend, on which are placed three gold buckles. This blazon appears for the first time on the arms of Sir Norman de Lechelyn of Aberdeenshire, rendered with slight variations that remain in use by the present chief of the clan, the Earl of Rothes, in the twentieth century.
The surname also spread beyond Scotland, taking on variants such as Lesley, Lesslie and Lesly, all reflecting the same Gaelic origin. In France, members of the Leslie family are recorded as de Lisle, many of whom served in the regiments of the French kings and were rewarded with the title Viscount de Fussi.
By the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Leslie surname had become established in many parts of the English‑speaking world, carried by emigrants who retained the traditional spelling and carried the family’s distinguished heritage abroad.
Typical given names associated with the Leslie surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- George
- Ian
- James
- John
- Michael
- Richard
- Robert
- William
Female
- Alison
- Anne
- Denise
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Helen
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
- Valerie
Similar and related surnames
- Lesslie
- Laslie
- Lasley
- Leasley
- Leesley
- Lelsie
- Lesli
- Lacell
- Lasala
- Lasalle
- Lascelle
- Lasell
- Lashlie
- Lasile
- Laslau
- Laslo
- Lassalle
- Lassel
- Lassell
- Lassila
- Laszlo
- Lauzel
- Laysell
- Layzall
- Layzel
- Layzell
- Layzelle
- Lazel
- Lazell
- Lazelle
- Lazzell
- Lazzolo
- Leazell
- Leshley
- Leslau
- Lesle
- Lesley
- Lesly
- Lessel
- Lessell
- Lessley
- Lesslis
- Lessly
- Lezala
- Lisel
- Lisle
- Lislie
- Lissell
- Lissle
- Lizzul
- Loessl
- Loisel
- Loiselle
- Loosle
- Loosli
- Loseele
- Losel
- Lossl
- Lozell
- Lucille
- Luciola
- Lucioli
- Lycell
- Lysle
- Wlazlo
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Leslie in...
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There are approximately 9,884 people named Leslie in the UK. That makes it the 939th most common surname in Britain. Around 152 in a million people in Britain are named Leslie.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Leslie
- John Leslie - Television presenter
- Chris Leslie - Politician
- Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes - Shipwreck survivor (1878 to 1956)
- Charlotte Leslie - Politician
- David Leslie - Racing driver (1953 to 2008)
- Lucy Noël Martha Leslie - Survivor of the Titanic (1881 to 1965)
- Robert Leslie - Motorcycle road racer (1911 to 1953)
- Jack Leslie - Football player (1901 to 1988)
- Ian Leslie, 21st Earl of Rothes - Royal Navy officer (1932 to 2005)
- Lawrie Leslie - Scottish football player (1935 to 2019)
- Michael Leslie - Scottish snooker player
- Chris Leslie - Musician
- Frank Leslie - American artist and publisher (1821 to 1880)
- Steve Leslie - Football player
- David Leslie - Scottish rugby union player
- Kenneth Leslie - Cricketer (1941 to 2009)
- John Leslie - Mathematician and physicist (1766 to 1832)
- Mariot Leslie - Member of HM Diplomatic Service
- Patrick Leslie - Early settler in Queensland, Australia (1815 to 1881)
- William Leslie - Officer during the American War of Independence (1751 to 1777)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.