indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from location)
Usage English
Meaning & History
From the city of Leeds in Yorkshire. The name was first attested in the form Loidis in AD 731. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as 'Ledes'. This name is thought to have ultimately been derived from an earlier Celtic name. Lādenses is thought to have been the original pre-Roman name for the forested area covering modern-day Leeds. Lādenses was a Brythonic name meaning 'people of the fast-flowing river' (See Lauder). This name is cognate with Welsh laesed, symbolising the act of flowing.