The Leak surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,053 people carried this name — #6,684 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 58,500 people counted. That is up 21% from 4,165 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Leak surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley explains it as ‘of Leek’.

An early record he cites: John de Lek, Lincolnshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Leak, Leake and Leek.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 474 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Leak was found among the farmers of Yorkshire, North and East Ridings: 13 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Leak and Leake.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Yorkshire, North and East Ridings 13

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

62 families named Leak, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 330 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New York 18
Maryland 9
Virginia 9
Connecticut 8
Pennsylvania 8
North Carolina 7
South Carolina 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 249 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Leak in American newspapers,
1846–1918.

Newspaper page from Oxford Eagle carrying the name Leak
Oxford Eagle 1918-01-10
Newspaper page from The North-carolina Standard carrying the name Leak
The North-carolina Standard 1846-04-08
Newspaper page from Wilmington Journal carrying the name Leak
Wilmington Journal 1853-07-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,169 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Leak in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

9,897 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Leak. The most, 1,806, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 5.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 6,244
Victoria 1,313
New South Wales 1,202
Western Australia 468
Queensland 464
Tasmania 159
ACT (Canberra) 24
Northern Territory 16

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Leak.

Who carried it

People named Leak,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Leak
    John Leak 1892–1972
  • Francis Leak 1542–1626 · politician
  • Francis Terry Leak 1803–1863 · lawyer
  • Albert Edward Leak 1875–1931 · textile manufacturer
  • Roscoe Ryan Leak 1884–1964 · writer
  • Hector Leak 1887–1976 · statistician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Leak,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States417 records

417 records of the Leak name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 207
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 80
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 57
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 25
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 24
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 17
  • Sacramento County historic burials 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Merle D. Leak

    Born 1918 in Utah. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Douglas; carpenter from Morgan County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at North Morgan Cemetery, Utah.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles Leak

    Born 1931; from Wilson County, North Carolina. U.S. Army, fire direction and liaison operator; died of wounds 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Leak

    Arrived at New York in 1883 aboard the City of Rome from Liverpool, aged 26; laborer. From England; bound for Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 417 records for Leak in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia125 records

125 records of the Leak name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 63
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 41
  • Tasmanian Names Index 10
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 3
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Leak

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Rodney, sailing from Queenstown in 1851. Native of Bristol, Gloucestershire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Esther Leak

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the Middlesex, aged 17; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Basil Leak

    Retired of Sandgate Queensland, Victoria; died 2001.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 125 records for Leak in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Leak name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 7
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Elsie Maude Leak

    Buried in 1976 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Ann Leak

    Died 1871 in Taylor Settlement, Musquodoboit, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Henrietta Leak

    Married 1878 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 9 records for Leak in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Leak name in New Zealand Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James William Leak

    Died 2000, aged 78; buried at Mercury Bay Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Leak name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. C. Leak

    Sapper, Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Leak.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Leak.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Leak is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Leak volume
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