Lease
A surname most likely from a dialect word for meadow or pasture, though some bearers may be linked to place-names or the surname Leese.
The #8,473 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,247 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably connected with a dialect form meaning a meadow, pasture, or grassy lea, ultimately from Old English words such as lǣs or lēah in related regional usage. In surname work, such names often arose either from someone living by pastureland or from a place described by that feature. The spelling Lease may also reflect later variation from Leese, which is treated as a related form in older sources.
History
The historical references available here do not give a single definitive origin for Lease, and some 19th-century writers simply compare it with Leese or with dialect "leas" meaning pasture. The name is uncommon in modern U.S. usage, and its spelling likely reflects regional and clerical variation over time. As with many short English surnames, several independent families may have ended up with the same form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An old quotation cited by surname writers uses "leaze" in the sense of a pasture, showing how close the name is to a real landscape word.
From the historical record
“Again, in the 18th century in the form of Caroline (.wife ofGeorgc IJ) it obtained a new lease of popu- larity. Once more, in the 19th century the lamented Princess Charlotte caused the earlier form to become immensely fashionable.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances