Lashley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Anglo-Saxon name Lashley comes from when its first bearer worked as a doctor. Throughout the Middle Ages, doctors were known as "leaches" as the practice of bleeding sick people was the generally accepted manner of curing them. There are countless people in the Middle Ages who died thanks to the common cold; not because the virus killed them, but because they bled to death on the advice of their physicians. Bleeding was accomplished by placing a dozen or so leaches on the person who was ill so that they could remove the poisons that were making them ill, hence the name "leach" for the occupation of doctor. It is small wonder that illness was so feared in the medieval period; many people died from illnesses that would not have otherwise killed them because their doctors were weakening them through loss of blood.

Since the 1970s, Hirudo medicinalis, better known as the European medicinal leech has been routinely used to drain blood after reconstructive surgery, particularly in finger reattachment and reconstructive surgery of the ear, nose, lip, and eyelid.

Early Origins of the Lashley family

The surname Lashley was first found in Oxfordshire where the earliest records of the family were found as Edmund le Leche and William le Leche who were both listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. A few years later, Robert le Leche was listed in the Writs of Parliament of 1307. 1

Further north in Scotland, many records were found including: Henry Leche held a tenement in Glasgow in 1325. "Henry Leche, is later referred to in a safe conduct by Edward III of England in 1348 as "Hector medicus David de Bruys." From another reference to him in 1369, he turns out to be a MacBeth, perhaps one of the family of hereditary doctors of that name so famous in West Highland history. Wilham de Lech or Leche was burgess of Aberdeen, 1362. He may be William Leche, merchant of Aberdeen, whose goods were plundered in England, 1370, when his ship was driven ashore in Kirklee Rode, Suffolk." 2 They also settled in Monteith where they gave their name to Leitchtown.

Early History of the Lashley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lashley research. Another 431 words (31 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1363, 1367, 1372, 1386, 1421, 1429, 1440, 1452, 1466, 1484, 1487, 1500, 1511, 1520, 1550, 1580, 1587, 1624, 1638, 1639, 1666, 1767, 1779 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Lashley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lashley Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Lashley include Leach, Leech, Leche, Leitch, Leich, Leetch and others.

Early Notables of the Lashley family

More information is included under the topic Early Lashley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lashley Ranking

In the United States, the name Lashley is the 4,527^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Lashley family to Ireland

Some of the Lashley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lashley migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Lashley or a variant listed above:

Lashley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Walter Lashley, who landed in Virginia in 1657 4

Lashley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Isabele Lashley, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 4

Lashley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alexander Lashley, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Guiana" from West Indies 5
Iris Lashley, aged 24, originally from St. James, Barbados, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Aidan" from Maceio 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Lashley (post 1700) +

Karl Spencer Lashley (1890-1958), American psychologist and behaviorist
Ken Lashley, American comic book artist and writer
Bobby Lashley (b. 1976), American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist
Patrick Douglas "Peter" Lashley (1937-2023), Barbados cricketer who played four Tests for the West Indies in the 1960s
Peter Lashley (b. 1937), Barbadian former cricketer who played four Tests for the West Indies in the 1960a
Nick Lashley, British producer, songwriter and musician, best known for his work with Alanis Morissette
Ronald Lashley Hockman (b. 1924), American Democratic Party politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Tucker County, 1959-60 6

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html