Lee (English name)

:"See Lee for a full list of uses."Lee is a common surname in English-speaking countries. A common spelling variant is Leigh. It has two main origins. As an English surname it derives from Middle English "lea", meaning "meadow, forest clearing", and is therefore a name describing the bearer's place of residence. Alternatively it is also the most common Romany Gypsy surname in the British Isles. The Romany Gypsy usage of Lee/Leigh/Legh is as a shorterned form of Leek, itself a translation of the international Romany surname Purrum (which strictly means "onion"). Lee was the 35th most common surname in England and Wales in the 1990s, and the 213th in U.S.A. in 1990 [ [http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi Popular Baby Names ] ] . The American data includes bearers of the Chinese surname Lee and the Korean surname Lee. In Ireland, Lee has been used to anglicize Gaelic "descendant of Laoidhigh (poet)". A rare spelling variant is Lea.
Charles Lee, Robert E. Lee, and Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee were well-known generals in the United States. See also Henry Lee (disambiguation) for more people of that name. See also Alexander Lee for the notable historian.

A number of places in the US have been named for the various famous people named Lee:
* Lee, Massachusetts
* Lee, New Hampshire
*Lee Township, Michigan
*Lee Township, Minnesota
*Lee's Summit, Missouri
*various places named Fort Lee
*various places named Leesburg
*various places named Leesville

In the UK the reverse is true: a family name of Lee derives from a place name. See Lee for a list of some.

Lee has been in quiet but steady use as a first name. Besides the surname origin, it is a nickname for Leo, Leroy, Liam, and Leland. In the U.S. its popularity peak as a male first name was around 1890, and as a female first name in the 1950s. Lee is much more common as a middle name.

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