Lyke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Etymology of Lyke

What does the name Lyke mean?

The ancestry of the name Lyke dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in one of the places that was called Leake. The name literally means "place at the brook," from the Scandinavian word "loekr." The Lincolnshire, Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire parishes all date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 1 where they were listed as Leche, Lec(h)e and Lec(c)he respectively. 2

Early Origins of the Lyke family

The surname Lyke was first found in either Lincolnshire, Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire which all have parishes names Leake. For some of the first listings of the family, we must look to Lincolnshire where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the following: John de Lek; Roger de Leke; and Teobald de Lek as all living in that shire at that time. 3

Willie's Lyke-Wake is a Child Ballad, one of 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants listed in the 1904 Houghton Mifflin edition. Lyke-Wake Dirge is a traditional English song that is thought to have originated in the Yorkshire area.

Other early rolls included the following entries for the family: Walter de Lek in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1202; Ralph de Lek in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219; Henry de Leek in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1290; John Leke in Lincolnshire (no date); and Ralph Leecke in the Hundredorum Rolls for Bedfordshire in 1279. 4

Early History of the Lyke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lyke research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1334, 1581, 1627, 1633, 1655, 1656, 1660, 1679, 1681, 1708, 1710, 1712, 1715 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Lyke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lyke Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Lyke have been found, including Leake, Leak, Leek, Leeke, Leyke and others.

Early Notables of the Lyke family

Francis Leke, 1st Earl of Scarsdale (1581-1655) fought for the Royalist cause in the English Civil War; Sir Francis Leke, 1st Baronet (1627-1679), an English soldier, administrator and Member of Parliament, High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 1660; William Leake, the father (died 1633) and his son (died 1681), London publishers...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lyke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lyke Ranking

the United States, the name Lyke is the 15,429^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Lyke migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Lyke, or a variant listed above:

Lyke Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anne Lyke, who arrived in Virginia in 1642 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Lyke (post 1700) +

James Patterson Lyke O.F.M. (1939-1992), American clergyman, Archbishop of Atlanta from 1991 to 1992

The Lyke 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: Agendo gnaviter
Motto Translation: By acting prudently.

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)