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Leicester History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Leicester Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestors of the bearers of the Leicester family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Leicester, in Leicestershire. Leicester is the capital of the county and its name is derived from the Old English element ceaster, which meant "Roman town." 1

Early Origins of the Leicester family

The surname Leicester was first found in Cheshire at Leycester, more commonly known as Leicester, a city now in the unitary authority area in the East Midlands. The first record of the place name was found in the early 10th century as "Ligera ceater" but by the Domesday Book of 1086 the place name had evolved to Ledecestre. 2

Literally the place name means "Roman town of the people called Ligore," having derived from the Tribal name + the Old English word "ceater." 1 As far as the surname is concerned, the family are "descended from Sir Nicholas Leycester, who acquired the manor of Nether-Tabley in marriage, and died in 1295." 3

But another source notes that Hugo de Legrecestra was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Leicestershire in 1130, followed by Nicholas de Leycester who was listed in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1287. 4

And another source notes that the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list what is probably the first instance of the name as Robert de Lestre. 5

Yorkshire was home to an early branch of the family: Richard de Laycestre in 1305; Henry Lycester in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls in 1381; William Leycetter in 1480; and Henry Lasisture in 1503. 4

Early History of the Leicester family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leicester research. Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1586, 1588, 1604, 1605, 1614, 1620, 1642, 1643, 1647, 1674, 1678, 1684, 1705, 1706, 1715, 1727, 1732, 1742, 1762, 1770 and 1827 are included under the topic Early Leicester History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leicester 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 Leicester include Leycester, Leicester, Leister, Lester and others.

Early Notables of the Leicester family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Sir Peter Leycester (Leicester), 1st Baronet (1614-1678), an English antiquarian and historian, supporter of the Royalist side in the Civil War. He was born at Nether Tabley, near Knutsford, Cheshire...
He was succeeded in the baronetage by his eldest son, Sir Robert Leicester (1643-1684.) Sir Francis Leicester, 3rd Baronet (1674-1742) of Tabley, Cheshire was a British landowner and politician who sa...
John Leicester, 1st Baron de Tabley (4 April 1762-June 1827) was an English landowner, politician, amateur artist, and patron of the arts. Born at Tabley House in Cheshire, 4 April 1762, he was the el...

Migration of the Leicester family to Ireland

Some of the Leicester family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leicester 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 Leicester or a variant listed above:

Leicester Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Peter Leicester, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1682 6

Leicester Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Leicester, who settled in Virginia in 1732

Leicester migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Leicester Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Leicester, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 20th May 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mary Leicester, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Duke Of Bronte" in 1849 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Leicester (post 1700) +

Robert T. Leicester, American politician, Representative from New York 17th District, 1950
Ann Leicester (1912-1996), American film actress
Robert Dudley Leicester (1532-1588), English statesman
Darren Leicester Cheeseman (b. 1976), Australian politician, Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of South Barwon
Edward Leicester Atkinson DSO AM RN (1881-1929), Royal naval surgeon and Antarctic explorer, eponym of Atkinson Cliffs, Antarctica
Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth (1870-1937), 1st Baronet, British businessman and Liberal politician
Darren Leicester Cheeseman (b. 1976), Australian politician, Member of the Australian Parliament for Corangamite (2007-)
Leicester Fitzgerald Charles Stanhope (1784-1862), fifth Earl of Harrington, Irish peer, third son of Charles Stanhope, third Earl of Harrington

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The DUKE OF BRONTE 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849DukeOfBronte.htm