Lelean History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Lelean is an old Anglo-Saxon name. It comes from when a 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 Lelean family

The surname Lelean 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 Lelean family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lelean 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 Lelean History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lelean Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Lelean were recorded, including Leyland, Leland, Lelland, Leeland, Lealand and others.

Early Notables of the Lelean family

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

Lelean migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Lelean Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas J. Lelean, (b. 1838), aged 24, British farm labourer travelling from London aboard the ship "Echunga" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 24th December 1862 5
Mr. Thomas J. Lelean, (b. 1847), aged 24, English farm labourer from Cornwall, England, travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship 'Merope' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 25th August 1871 5
Mr. Thomas S. Lelean, (b. 1847), aged 24, Cornish farm labourer departing on 9th June 1871 aboard the ship "Merope" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 25th August 1871 6

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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf