Leek
Usually a habitational surname from places called Leek, especially the town in Staffordshire.
The #9,991 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,646 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Leek is generally an English habitational surname, used for someone who came from a place called Leek. The name is well attested in reference works as referring especially to Leek in Staffordshire, with some medieval bearers also linked to other places of the same or similar name. The place-name itself is distinct from the vegetable word, though the spelling is the same.
History
Medieval records show forms such as de Lek, indicating “of Leek,” which is typical of locational surnames. The surname later spread beyond its original local areas and appears in several English and emigrant populations. Some early spellings and related forms overlap with Leake and other place-based surnames, so historical records can be variable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is unrelated to the common vegetable-name surname that can be spelled the same way in modern English.
From the historical record
“LEEDS. The great town in Yorkshire. LEEK. A town in Staffordshire, and parishes in cos. York and "Warwick. The Leekes of Longford, co. Salop, trace to Ealph L. of Ludlow, A.D. 1334. LEEMAN. See Lee, and the termina- tion JIAX. LEEMING. A chapeby in Yorkshire. LEER. See Lear.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom