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Origins Available: |
| Scotland/England |
The Leishmen surname is derived from the Old English word "laece" meaning "leech," and indicating "one who used leeches to let blood," that is, a blood-letter or physician.
The surname Leishmen was first found in Stirlingshire where they held a family seat. The deep roots of the name appear to be in an area around Falkirk and there are many early recordings of the name although it is also recorded in Lanarkshire with the early spelling of Leechman was a sobriquet for a doctor. In fact, there is a claim on record of one Leechman who held many estates and who was Medicus Regis, the King's Leech, and, it is intimated, was the ancestor of the all the Leechmans. Oddly, in their later border relationships, the Leishmans became more oriented toward the clergy. William Leischman was prior of Fogo in 1465. 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leishmen research. Another 45 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1435, 1550 and 1644 are included under the topic Early Leishmen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Leechman, Leishman, Leeshman, Leischman, Leisman, Leachman, Leychman, Leighchman, Liechman, Leesman and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Leishmen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John Leishman, who arrived in New England with his wife Sarah in 1764; Andrew Leishman, who came to Montreal in 1812; James Leishman, who settled in Boston in 1717.