Contents [hide]

Legg History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Legg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

Early Origins of the Legg family

The surname Legg was first found in Dumfriesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Phris), a Southern area, bordering on England that today forms part of the Dumfries and Galloway Council Area, where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Legg family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Legg research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1647, 1673, 1682, 1683, 1685, 1691 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Legg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Legg Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Legge, Legg and others.

Early Notables of the Legg family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Admiral George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth PC (c.1647-1691), an English naval commander, Gvernor of Portsmouth 1673, Master-General of the Ordnance 1682, Admiral of the Fleet 1683, Master of the King's...

Legg Ranking

In the United States, the name Legg is the 3,685^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Legg family to Ireland

Some of the Legg 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.

Legg migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Legg Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Christopher Legg, aged 18, who settled in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Globe"
Mr. Chri Legg, aged 19, who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "Primrose" in 1635 2
Grace Legg, who landed in Virginia in 1652 3
Edy Legg, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 3
Margaret Legg, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Legg Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliza Legg, who landed in Virginia in 1700 3
James Legg, who arrived in Virginia in 1702 3
John Legg, who landed in New England in 1727 3

Legg Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Henry Legg, who landed in Mississippi in 1895 3

Legg migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Legg Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Joshua Legg, who landed in Canada in 1837

Legg migration to Australia +

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

Legg Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Legg, (b. 1780), aged 36, English blacksmith who was convicted in Kent, England for life for house robbery, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1859 4
Mr. John Legg, British Convict who was convicted in Dorset, England for 7 years for machine breaking, transported aboard the "Eleanor" on 26th June 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. William Legg, British Convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 14 years for machine breaking, transported aboard the "Eleanor" on 26th June 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. James Legg, (Hewer), (b. 1799), English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 2nd November 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he returned to England and was transported on the "China" on 16th May 1846 to Norfolk Island, Australia 6
Joseph W. Legg, aged 27, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Duke of Wellington" 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Legg migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Legg Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Charles Legg, aged 29, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1850
William Legg, aged 28, a servant, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Lady Nugent" in 1850
Edward Legg, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Zealandia" in 1861
Sarah Legg, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Zealandia" in 1861
B. Legg, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Affiance" in 1863
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Legg (post 1700) +

Gregory Lynn "Greg" Legg (b. 1960), American former Major League Baseball player
John Legg (b. 1975), Florida educator and Republican politician who serves as the Representative for District 46 in the House of Representatives of the U.S. State of Florida
Sir Thomas Stuart Legg KCB, QC (b. 1935), senior former British civil servant who was Permanent Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, United Kingdom, 1989-1998
William Campbell "Bill" Legg (1948-2022), English professional footballer, who played for Huddersfield Town and Bradford Park Avenue (1965-1969)
Mike Legg (b. 1975), Canadian former ice hockey player
Barry Charles Legg (b. 1949), British politician, Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South West (1992–1997)
Stuart Legg (1910-1988), English documentary film-maker, best known for Churchill's Island (1941), which won the first Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject
Karen Legg (b. 1978), former British freestyle swimmer who won four world, two European and seven Commonwealth medals
Andrew "Andy" Legg (b. 1966), Welsh International footballer known for having the longest throw-in in football

Historic Events for the Legg family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Sidney Arthur Legg (1924-1942), , aged 21, born in Westham, Dorsetshire, England, British Ordinary Telegraphist aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 8

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Reginald Legg, British Boy, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 9

The Legg Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Gaudet tentamine virtus
Motto Translation: Virtue exults in the trial.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eleanor
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 5th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/china
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The DUKE OF WELLINGTON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Duke%20of%20Wellington.htm
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html