Leyre History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• France

Etymology of Leyre

Leyre is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Leire, in Leciestershire, or in Layer in Essex. They are all derived from an ancient Celtic river name, Leir. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been an occupational name for 'the layer,' i.e. a stone layer, one who sets the stones in building, a waller. 2

"'Layere, or werkare wythe stone and mortere, cementarius': Promptorium Parvulorum, and v. Way's note thereon. Probably the term was familiar to Norfolk, as the above quotation suggests, for Layer has been a Norfolk surname for many centuries." 3

And another source has a slightly different origin, noting the name was from the "French layeur, a forest surveyor; one who makes roads through forests." 4

Early Origins of the Leyre family

Early History of the Leyre family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leyre research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1291, 1327, 1429, 1526, 1531, 1537, 1600, 1661, 1683 and 1723 are included under the topic Early Leyre History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leyre Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Leyre family name include Layer, Layar, Layre, Leyr, Leyre and others.

Early Notables of the Leyre family

Christopher Layer (1531-1600), of Norwich, Norfolk, an English merchant, burgess of Norwich, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He was the son of William Layer, Mayor of Norwich and Elizabeth, daughter of John Marsham of Norwich, gentleman. The four figurines encased in the two pilasters of The Layer Monument, also known as The Layer Quaternity in the Church of St John Maddermarket are rare examples of Northern Mannerism sculpture in Britain. Another Christopher Layer (1683-1723) was an English...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leyre Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Leyre family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Leyre surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Adam Layar who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749; John Hend Layer who sailed to Nova Scotia in 1752; and Henry Layer who sailed to Philadelphia in 1765..