Leyland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancient roots of the Leyland family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Leyland comes from when the family lived in Leyland, in Lancashire. The place-name Leyland is derived from the Old English elements læge and land, and means "untilled land." 1 It was recorded as Lailand in the Domesday Book, 2 compiled in 1086 on the orders of William the Conqueror. The family name is derived from the place-name and means "dweller by the uncultivated land."
Early Origins of the Leyland family
The surname Leyland was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. There are actually two parishes in Lancashire bearing the name Layland or Leyland. "The Lancashire Leyland was Leylaund, Leylond, Leyland, Laylond, Lelarid in the 13th century." 3
The first record of the family was actually found in neighbouring Yorkshire when Johannes Leyland was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4
Leyland Motors Limited, the British vehicle manufacturer of lorries, buses and trolleybuses was based in Leyland, Lancashire. Founded in 1896, the original company is now defunct.
Early History of the Leyland family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leyland research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1210, 1503, 1552, 1670, 1679, 1691 and 1766 are included under the topic Early Leyland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Leyland Spelling Variations
One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Leyland has appeared include Leyland, Leland, Lelland, Leeland, Lealand and others.
Early Notables of the Leyland family
Distinguished members of the family include
- John Leland, also Leyland (1503-1552), an English poet and antiquary, often described as "the father of English local history and bibliography"
Leyland migration to the United States +
At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Leyland arrived in North America very early:
Leyland Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- John Leyland, who arrived in Virginia in 1698
Leyland Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Thomas Leyland, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1751
Leyland Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Thomas Leyland, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1882 5
Leyland migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Leyland Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Joseph Leyland, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6
- Mr. James Leyland who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Clara" on 19th March 1857, arriving in Western Australia, Australia 7
Contemporary Notables of the name Leyland (post 1700) +
- Jim Leyland (b. 1944), American Major League Baseball manager
- Norman Leyland, British educator, first director of Templeton College, Oxford University
- Mike Leyland (1945-2009), and his brother Mal Leyland (born 1945), "The Leyland Brothers," were Australian explorers and documentary film-makers, best known for their popular television show, Ask the Leyland Brothers
- Peter Leyland, British Professor at London Metropolitan University
Historic Events for the Leyland family +
- Mr. William Leyland, American 3rd Class passenger from San Francisco, California, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 8
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)
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. 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)
- 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)
- State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
- Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 11th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clara
- Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/