Leber History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

Leber is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived in the township of Great Lever in Lancashire as well as in Little Lever the chapelry in the parish of Bolton in Lancashire. The Leber family were industrialists and millers, perhaps giving rise to the modern city of Liverpool, from their own Leaver's Port.

Early Origins of the Leber family

The surname Leber was first found in Lancashire at Little Lever, now a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester. Great Lever, a township nearby "was long held by the family of Lever, but in the 6th year of Edward IV., Sir Rauff Assheton, Knt., sued out a 'write of right of warde' against Roger Lever, for the recovery of the manor, and obtained judgment against him at the assizes of Lancaster. Lever, however, with a number of dependants of his name, and a large concourse of persons, many of whom had been outlawed, riotously broke into Lancaster Castle, and carried off the record of recovery. Sir Rauff complaining of this outrage to the two houses of parliament, they ordained that the copy of the record which was annexed to his petition should be of the same force and efficacy as the original; and the justices thereupon ordered execution to issue, and reinstated him in the possession, which, notwithstanding, was not undisturbed until some time after. " 1

The village's name was derived from the Old English word "laefre," which means "place where the rushes grow." 2 The first listing of the place name was found in 1212 when it was listed as Parua Lefre. 2 Nearby is Darcy Lever which was the ancestral home of the D'Arcy family since 1590.

Early History of the Leber family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leber research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1521, 1551, 1553 and 1577 are included under the topic Early Leber History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leber Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Leber has been recorded under many different variations, including Lever, Leaver, Leyver and others.

Early Notables of the Leber family

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leber Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leber World Ranking

In the United States, the name Leber is the 17,690^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Leber is ranked the 5,677^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 4

Leber migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Leber or a variant listed above:

Leber Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Willem Leber, who arrived in New York in 1709 5
Jacob Leber, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1749 5
Johan Adam Leber, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1774 5

Leber Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alexander Leber, who arrived in Missouri in 1840 5
Philipp Leber, who landed in North America in 1846 5
Jak Leber, who landed in America in 1853 5
Mariane Leber, aged 18, who landed in America in 1854 5
N Leber, aged 12, who arrived in America in 1854 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Leber migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Leber Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Jacques Leber, who arrived in Montreal in 1657

Contemporary Notables of the name Leber (post 1700) +

Ben Leber, American professional football player
Frances Leber, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Jersey 3rd District, 1950 6
Jean Leber (1939-2020), French violinist, conductor, and teacher who died from COVID-19
Wilhelm Leber (b. 1947), German mathematician and minister in the New Apostolic Church
Wolfgang Leber (b. 1936), German painter, printmaker and draughtsman
Georg Leber (b. 1920), German politician, member of the Bundestag
Julius Leber (1891-1945), German politician, member of the German Resistance against the Nazi regime
Heinz Leber, German fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe, during World War II, credited with 54 aerial victories, awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html