Leacock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The present generation of the Leacock family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the village of Laycock in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 The surname was originally derived from the Old English words leah cocc, which refers to the meadow with the wild birds. 2

Another Laycock is a parish, in the union and hundred of Chippenham, Chippenham and Calne in Wiltshire. 3 4

Lacock is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 5 and Lacock Abbey was founded on the manorial lands by Ela, Countess of Salisbury in 1232. The name can be derived from Lacoc; or from the French, Lecocq; a personal name. 6

Early Origins of the Leacock family

The surname Leacock was first found in Laycock, now a a suburb of the town of Keighley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The first record of the family dates back to the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 where Johanna Lakkoc; Johannes de Laccok; and Thomas de Lacokke were each listed. 7

Because of the proximity to the Scottish border, records in Scotland were found as early as 1492 when William Laicok was vicar of Retre (Rattray.) Later John Lacok canon of Dunkeld, was auditor of accounts of the bishopric between 1505 and 1517. 1

Early History of the Leacock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leacock research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1685, 1812, 1834, 1835, 1837, 1839, 1840 and 1876 are included under the topic Early Leacock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leacock Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Leacock include Lacock, Laycock, Leacock and others.

Early Notables of the Leacock family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Laycock (1812-1876), English mental physiologist, born at Wetherby in the West Kiding of Yorkshire in 1812 and was educated at the Wesleyan academy, Woodhouse Grove, and at University College, London. He studied anatomy and physiology under Lisfranc and Velpeau at Paris during 1834, became M.R.C.S. in 1835, contributed in 1837 a valuable paper on 'The Acid and Alkaline Reactions of the Saliva' to the 'London Medical Gazette.' and graduated M.D. at Gottingen, 'summa cum laude.' in 1839. Laycock had already begun to specialise upon the relations existing between the nervous system and...
Another 135 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leacock Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leacock migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Leacock were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Leacock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Leacock, aged 30, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1839 8
Benjamin Bob Leacock, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1855 8

Leacock migration to Australia +

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

Leacock Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Leacock, British Convict who was convicted in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada for 14 years, transported aboard the "Candahar" on 26th March 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
James Page Leacock, English convict from Norfolk, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Leacock (post 1700) +

Stephen Butler Leacock (1869-1944), English-born, Canada's most famous humorist who is best remembered for his "Literary Lapses" and "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town"
Martin L. Leacock, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Michigan 14th District, 1944 11
Jovan K. Leacock (b. 1988), American football safety
Eleanor Burke Leacock (1922-1987), American anthropologist and social theorist
Edward Philip "EP" Leacock (1853-1927), English-born confidence man, real estate speculator and politician who represented Birtle, Manitoba from 1882 to 1886 and Russell from 1886 to 1888, uncle of humorist Stephen Leacock
Richard Leacock (1921-2011), English documentary film director and one of the pioneers of Direct Cinema and Cinéma vérité
Philip Leacock (1917-1990), English television and film director and producer, brother of filmmaker Richard Leacock
Dean Leacock (b. 1984), English footballer
Yolande Leacock (b. 1991), Trinidadian female tennis player
Robin Melanie Leacock, British documentary filmmaker, daughter-in-law of Richard Leacock
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Leacock 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: Verus honor honestas
Motto Translation: Truth, honour and honesty.

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. 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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/candahar
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html