NameCensus.

UK surname

Leeds

A habitational surname derived from the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, meaning "people's land" or "clearing."

In the 1881 census there were 577 people recorded with the Leeds surname, ranking it #6,036 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 698, ranked #7,719, down from #6,036 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju, Brandon, Parva and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cornwall, Gwynedd and Swale.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Leeds is 720 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 21.0%.

1881 census count

577

Ranked #6,036

Modern count

698

2016, ranked #7,719

Peak year

2002

720 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Leeds had 577 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,036 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 698 in 2016, ranked #7,719.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 704 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Leeds surname distribution map

The map shows where the Leeds surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Leeds surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Leeds over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 498 #5,020
1861 historical 624 #4,284
1881 historical 577 #6,036
1891 historical 704 #5,575
1901 historical 631 #6,795
1911 historical 660 #6,361
1997 modern 650 #7,655
1998 modern 674 #7,699
1999 modern 691 #7,594
2000 modern 686 #7,606
2001 modern 684 #7,497
2002 modern 720 #7,346
2003 modern 670 #7,656
2004 modern 667 #7,699
2005 modern 653 #7,741
2006 modern 655 #7,756
2007 modern 642 #7,940
2008 modern 645 #7,959
2009 modern 665 #7,936
2010 modern 672 #8,041
2011 modern 662 #8,039
2012 modern 682 #7,772
2013 modern 699 #7,734
2014 modern 703 #7,744
2015 modern 688 #7,828
2016 modern 698 #7,719

Geography

Back to top

Where Leeds' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju, Brandon, Parva, London parishes, Newport Pagnell and Lakenham , Eaton St Andrew, Town Close, St Stephen, St Peter Mancroft, St Giles, St Andrew, St John. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cornwall, Gwynedd, Swale, Bexley and Herefordshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 St George Tombland, St Peter Mountergate, St John Timberhill, All Saints, St Michael at Thorn, St Ju Norfolk
2 Brandon, Parva Norfolk
3 London parishes London 3
4 Newport Pagnell Buckinghamshire
5 Lakenham , Eaton St Andrew, Town Close, St Stephen, St Peter Mancroft, St Giles, St Andrew, St John Norfolk

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cornwall 003 Cornwall
2 Gwynedd 016 Gwynedd
3 Swale 015 Swale
4 Bexley 008 Bexley
5 Herefordshire 009 Herefordshire, County of

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Leeds

These lists show first names that appear often with the Leeds surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Leeds

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Leeds, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Leeds surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Leeds household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Leeds is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Leeds is most concentrated in decile 6 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Leeds falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Leeds is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Leeds, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Leeds

The surname Leeds is an English toponymic name derived from the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It originated in the early medieval period, with the name Leeds itself stemming from the Old English "Loidis" or "Loides", meaning a place where wild garlic or leeks grew in abundance.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Leeds is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Ledes". This survey, commissioned by William the Conqueror, documented landholders and properties across much of England and parts of Wales.

During the 13th century, the spelling of the name evolved to "Ledes", as evidenced by its appearance in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire from 1246. By the 14th century, the modern spelling "Leeds" had become more prevalent, as seen in the Yorkshire Poll Tax returns of 1379.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Leeds include Sir Thomas Leeds (1558-1638), an English Renaissance composer and musician who served as a court musician to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Another early bearer of the name was Ralph Leeds (1590-1667), a prominent Puritan minister who emigrated to New England in the 1630s and served as the pastor of the church in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

During the 18th century, Daniel Leeds (1718-1785) was a prominent merchant and landowner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and served as a justice of the peace and alderman in the city. His son, Samuel Leeds (1746-1819), was a lawyer and judge who represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress from 1784 to 1789.

In the 19th century, Benjamin Leeds (1808-1868) was a prominent industrialist and banker from Philadelphia, credited with establishing the Leeds & Lippincott Company, one of the largest iron and steel manufacturers in the United States at the time.

Over the centuries, the surname Leeds has also been associated with various place names and locations, including Leeds Castle in Kent, England, and the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, where the name originated.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Leeds families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Leeds surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Norfolk leads with 131 Leeds' recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.14x.

County Total Index
Norfolk 131 15.14x
Kent 81 4.22x
Middlesex 50 0.89x
Surrey 48 1.75x
Yorkshire 43 0.77x
Lancashire 30 0.45x
Aberdeenshire 17 3.26x
Suffolk 17 2.48x
Cambridgeshire 16 4.49x
Huntingdonshire 15 13.42x
Hampshire 13 1.13x
Northamptonshire 13 2.46x
Shropshire 13 2.67x
Cumberland 9 1.86x
Essex 9 0.81x
Buckinghamshire 8 2.35x
Lincolnshire 7 0.78x
Gloucestershire 6 0.54x
Lanarkshire 6 0.33x
Worcestershire 6 0.82x
Cheshire 5 0.40x
Somerset 5 0.55x
Flintshire 4 2.64x
Sussex 4 0.42x
Wiltshire 4 0.80x
Berkshire 3 0.71x
Leicestershire 3 0.48x
Derbyshire 2 0.23x
Devon 2 0.17x
Oxfordshire 2 0.58x
Staffordshire 2 0.11x
Durham 1 0.06x
Herefordshire 1 0.43x
Midlothian 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Heigham in Norfolk leads with 23 Leeds' recorded in 1881 and an index of 49.52x.

Place Total Index
Heigham 23 49.52x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 13 13.33x
Wellington 13 47.57x
Bermondsey 12 7.16x
Sheffield 11 6.20x
Westminster St James 11 19.01x
Lewisham 10 9.77x
Mortlake 10 81.83x
Somersham 10 369.00x
St Pancras London 10 2.21x
West Derby 10 5.12x
Hackford In Aylsham 9 580.65x
Mileham 9 957.45x
Catwick 8 1538.46x
Crosscanonby 8 49.91x
Lowestoft 8 24.71x
Norton 8 2352.94x
Ashford 7 37.43x
Camberwell 7 1.95x
East Dereham 7 64.04x
Maidstone 7 12.24x
Newport Pagnell 7 98.45x
Norwich St Paul 7 135.14x
Ramsden Crays 7 1590.91x
Southampton All Sts 7 35.37x
Spalding 7 39.19x
Streatham 7 16.76x
Welborne 7 1842.11x
Wisbech St Peter 7 39.15x
Elm 6 171.92x
Govan 6 1.33x
Kettering 6 28.02x
Longham 6 967.74x
Norwich St Peter 6 105.63x
Brampton Bierlow 5 70.03x
Cheltenham 5 5.87x
Chilham 5 183.15x
Eye 5 197.63x
Gorton 5 7.96x
Hockering 5 694.44x
Kensington London 5 1.60x
Ramsgate 5 15.95x
Shipbourne 5 510.20x
St Ives 5 86.21x
Aberdeen Old Machar 4 3.68x
Brompton In Scarborough 4 300.75x
Chorlton On Medlock 4 3.77x
Clerkenwell London 4 3.01x
Dover St James 4 47.51x
Everton 4 1.88x
Flint 4 46.57x
Hastings St Andrew 4 117.65x
Hilborough 4 615.38x
Ipswich St Mathew 4 20.82x
Lambeth 4 0.82x
Mattishall 4 231.21x
Mereworth 4 258.06x
Norwich St John Sepulchre 4 71.17x
Sittingbourne 4 26.39x
Southwark St George Martyr 4 3.53x
Whitwell 4 487.80x
Worcester St Nicholas 4 114.94x
Bishopsoil 3 909.09x
Brading 3 19.57x
Brandon Parva 3 937.50x
Devizes St Mary 3 59.64x
Edmonton 3 6.62x
Gunton 3 1764.71x
Hedon 3 160.43x
Hoole 3 63.83x
Keswick 3 1034.48x
Milton In Gravesend 3 10.42x
Norwich St Giles 3 108.30x
Norwich St Michael At 3 59.76x
Paddington London 3 1.45x
Reading St Giles 3 7.24x
Runhall 3 789.47x
Sculcoates 3 3.39x
Walcot 3 6.22x
Halliwell 2 8.23x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Leeds surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Leeds surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 30
John 27
George 23
Edward 16
Henry 13
James 12
Robert 11
Thomas 11
Charles 10
Samuel 9
Albert 7
Ernest 7
Walter 6
Frank 5
Frederick 5
Joseph 5
Stephen 5
Alfred 4
Arthur 4
Daniel 4
Edwin 3
Herbert 3
Augustus 2
Benjamin 2
Edgar 2
Edmund 2
Gibbs 2
Harry 2
Horace 2
Jesse 2
Richard 2
Alexdr. 1
Beckham 1
Chas.Willm.Edwd. 1
David 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Frederic 1
Fredk. 1
Fredk.A. 1
Fredric 1
Georg 1
Joshua 1
Laurence 1
Lester 1
Lionel 1
Luke 1
Luther 1
Mathew 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Leeds surname: questions and answers

How common was the Leeds surname in 1881?

In 1881, 577 people were recorded with the Leeds surname. That placed it at #6,036 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Leeds surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 698 in 2016. That gives Leeds a modern rank of #7,719.

What does the Leeds surname mean?

A habitational surname derived from the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, meaning "people's land" or "clearing."

What does the Leeds map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Leeds bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.