Leare History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The history of the Leare family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Leicestershire. This surname was originally derived from the Old French de L'Eyre, a reference to a place in the arrondissement of Evreux in Normandy. 1 2

Early Origins of the Leare family

The surname Leare was first found in Leicestershire and Warwickshire where one of the first records of the family was William de Lyre who held estates in these shires in the 13th century. 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William de la Lere (likely the same as above) 3

Early History of the Leare family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leare research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1272, 1602, 1642, 1662, 1722, 1798, 1802 and 1804 are included under the topic Early Leare History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leare Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Lear, Leare, Leer, Leere and others.

Early Notables of the Leare family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Tobias Lear, an American diplomat who was appointed by George Washington as his military secretary in 1798 and appointed by...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leare Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Leare family to Ireland

Some of the Leare family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leare migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Leare Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Sir Peter Leare who arrived in Barbados in 1679

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies