Lee
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "lee"
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old English lēa, the dative case of lēah (“meadow”), originally to denote someone who lived near a meadow.
Alternative forms
Proper noun
Lee (countable and uncountable, plural Lees)
- An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a meadow (the Anglo-Saxon for meadow being ley or leag).
- A unisex given name
- A male given name derived from the surname, masculine of Leigh
- A female given name popular in conjoined names such as Lee Ann or Mary Lee.
- 2016, Ruth Ware, In a Dark, Dark Wood, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 21:
- “Nora?” She frowned, puzzled.
“My name's Leonora,” I said. “At school I was Lee, but now I prefer Nora. I did mention it in the e-mail.”
I'd always hated being Lee. It was a boy's name, a name that lent itself to teasing and rhyme.
- A placename, for example:
- A number of places in England:
- A hamlet in Berrynarbor parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS5546).
- A small village in Ilfracombe parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS4846). [1]
- A suburb in the borough of Lewisham, Greater London (OS grid ref TQ3974).
- A hamlet in Romsey parish, Test Valley district, Hampshire, previously in Romsey Extra parish (OS grid ref SU3617).
- A village in Buckinghamshire, commonly known as The Lee.
- Alternative spelling of Lea, the River Lea in eastern England.
- A number of places in the United States:
- A former settlement in Inyo County, California.
- A town in Madison County, Florida.
- A village in DeKalb County and Lee County, Illinois.
- An unincorporated community in Monon Township, White County, Indiana.
- A town in Penobscot County, Maine.
- A town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
- An unincorporated community in Elko County, Nevada.
- A town in Strafford County, New Hampshire.
- A town and village in Oneida County, New York.
- A number of townships in the United States, listed under Lee Township.
- A number of places in England:
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Irish Laoi, perhaps from an ancient personal name.
Proper noun
Lee
Etymology 3
From Chinese:
- Mandarin: 李 (Lǐ), and other less common surnames such as 黎 (Lí).
- Cantonese: 李 (lei5), and other less common surnames such as 利 (lei6).
- Hokkien: 李 (Lí), Teochew: 李 (li2).
- Hakka: 李 (Lí).
Alternative forms
Proper noun
Lee (plural Lees)
- A surname from Chinese.
Derived terms
Etymology 4
Transcription of Korean 이(李) (I) and 리(李) (Ri).
Alternative forms
Proper noun
Lee (plural Lees)
Etymology 5
A diminutive.
Proper noun
Lee (plural Lees)
- A male given name
Statistics
- According to the 2010 United States Census, Lee is the 21st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 702,625 individuals. Lee is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (42.4%), White (36.0%) and Black/African American (16.3%) individuals.
See also
References
Anagrams
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