LEE (ENGLISH NAME)

:''See Lee for a full list of uses.''
'Lee' is a common surname in English-speaking countries. It derives from Middle English ''lea'', meaning "meadow, forest clearing", a residence name in England. Lee was the 35th commonest surname in England and Wales in the 1990s, and the 24th in U.S.A. in 1990. The American data includes bearers of the Chinese surname Lee and the Korean surname Lee. In Ireland, Lee has been used to anglicize Gaelic "descendant of Laoidhigh (poet)". Rare spelling variants are Leigh and Lea.
Charles Lee, Robert E. Lee, and Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee were well-known generals in the United States. See also Henry Lee for more people of that name. See also Alexander Lee for the notable historian.
A number of places in the US have been named for the various famous people named Lee:

★ Lee, Massachusetts

★ Lee, New Hampshire

★ Lee Township, Michigan

★ Lee Township, Minnesota

★ Lee's Summit, Missouri

★ various places named Fort Lee

★ various places named Leesburg

★ various places named Leesville
In the UK the reverse is true: a family name of Lee derives from a place name. See Lee for a list of some.
Lee has been in quiet but steady use as a first name. Besides the surname origin, it is a nickname for Leo, Leroy, Liam, and Leland. In the U.S. its popularity peak as a male first name was around 1890, and as a female first name in the 1950s. Lee is much more common as a middle name, particularly for women, as one-syllable names are favored for the sake of rhythm. Its use has also been inspired by names like Rosalie and Aurelie, sometimes spelled Rosa Lee or Ora Lee.

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References

References

★ Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges: A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press. 1988

★ Leslie Dunkling and William Gosling: Everyman's Dictionary of First Names. 1991