The Leeds surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,795 people carried this name — #8,659 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 77,500 people counted. That is up 2% from 3,714 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Leeds surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Leeds’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 476 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Leeds was found among the farmers of Norfolk: 22 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.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Norfolk 22

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

25 families named Leeds, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 132 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 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

Massachusetts 13
Connecticut 10
Vermont 1
Pennsylvania 1

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

Leeds in American newspapers,
1903–1909.

Newspaper page from The Wheatland World carrying the name Leeds
The Wheatland World 1909-12-03
Newspaper page from The Courier-journal carrying the name Leeds
The Courier-journal 1903-07-07
Newspaper page from Goodwin's Weekly : A Thinking Paper For Thinking People carrying the name Leeds
Goodwin's Weekly : A Thinking Paper For Thinking People 1903-09-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,546 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Leeds in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

12,952 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Leeds. The most, 2,569, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,477
Queensland 3,503
Western Australia 2,203
Victoria 1,251
South Australia 315
Tasmania 119
ACT (Canberra) 29
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Leeds,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edward Leeds d. 1590
  • Louisa Leeds d. 1894
  • Emily Leeds d. 1928
  • Anna Maria Frances Savage d. 1904
  • Ethel Beatrice Perkins d. 1937
  • Henrietta Elizabeth Heyward d. 1838

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Leeds,
in the records of 6 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 States453 records

453 records of the Leeds name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 151
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 134
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 49
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 47
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 36
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 27
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 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 Marvin M. Leeds

    Born 1925 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at New York City, from Bronx County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Clyde A. Leeds

    Born 1936; from Oceanville, New Jersey. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam.

    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 Anne Leeds

    Arrived at New York in 1854 aboard the Benjamin Nevis from Liverpool, aged 48; servant. From Germany; bound for Ohio.

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

Showing 3 of 453 records for Leeds in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Australia206 records

206 records of the Leeds name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 86
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 85
  • Tasmanian Names Index 12
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 8
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 5
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  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 Ann Leeds

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Westmoreland, sailing from Woolwich in 1836. Native of Shoreditch, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1841. Married 1841 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 26.

    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 John Leeds

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Lady Head, aged 28; 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 James Leeds

    Labourer of Woodstock-On-Loddon, Victoria; died 1882.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 206 records for Leeds in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · 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) · 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).

Canada11 records

11 records of the Leeds name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marina Constance Leeds

    Buried in 1982 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 66.

    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 William Bruce Leeds

    Died 1968 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Francis Leeds

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 11 records for Leeds in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Leeds name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henrietta Leeds

    Will proved in 1931; of Flint, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Leeds

    Labour Corps. 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) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Leeds name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Martijntie Leeds

    Buried in 1741 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Julia Leeds

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1877 in Amsterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Leeds name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Carl Maurice Leeds

    Born 1914 in the United States; died 1995 in Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Leeds.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Leeds is.
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