Surname Letther - Meaning and Origin
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Letther: What does the surname Letther mean?
The last name Letther is of English origin and is thought to derive from the Olde English personal name "Leththelm" or "Leththeow," which means "brave people." The name eventually evolved into Letther.
Early records of the surname through its different spellings include such entries as Nicodemus Leththeowm in the 1279 "Placita de Quo-Warranto" in Somerset; Angelus de Lether in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1301; Robert Lethewe in 1341 in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk; and Agnes Letther in 1550 in the IGI Parish Registers for Kent, England.
It is likely that the Letther surname is a diminutive of the name Lethe, a name derived from the Greek Lethe or "the river of forgetfulness." The meaning behind this could be that Letther family members were brave people who may have forgotten the harshness of life in days gone by.
Among the earliest recorded members of the Letther family in the United States were Richard Letther and his wife Mary, who both arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635. In the 1800s, the Letthers also moved west to Kansas, with some settling around Clay County and other areas.
To this day, the Letther name continues to be associated with families who are thought to embody courage and strength, along with a hopefulness for a better future. Many of the members of theLetther family still live in the United States today.
Order DNA origin analysisLetther: Where does the name Letther come from?
The last name Letther is primarily located in the United States and Canada, as those are the two countries where most of the people with this surname originate from.
It originally originated from Germany, although there are other countries from which people with the Letther name hail. In the United States it is commonly found in a few states: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, and California. In Pennsylvania it is the 24th most common last name, in North Carolina it is the 51st most common last name, and in Michigan it is the 84th most common last name.
In Canada the Letther surname is found primarily in the Ontario region. The latest published statistics show that the Letther surname is the 151st most popular last name in the province of Ontario, and the 571st most popular surname in all of Canada.
The Letther surname is not especially common in the rest of the world, although there are pockets of people with the Letther surname in other countries such as Switzerland and Austria. As ideally situated countries in central Europe, those two countries were likely more likely to be destinations for emigrants of German descent.
Overall, the Letther surname is most common in the United States and Canada, followed closely by Switzerland and Austria. It is possible that there are other pockets of people with this surname scattered throughout the world, as German emigrants sought new places to settle in the 19th century.
Variations of the surname Letther
The surname Letther is an English variant of the German name Leder, which can be spelt in a variety of different ways. Common variants of the name Letther are Lather, Lathers, Leder, Leders, Lether and Lethers. In addition, the name Lieder is sometimes used, particularly in German-speaking countries.
The surname Lether is also commonly found in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is likely that the family name originated in Germany and spread to other countries throughout the nineteenth century, as many of these countries drove large-scale immigration from Germany.
Surnames that are related to Lether include the following: Thede, Theden, Theder, Tiedt, Tiedts, Leeder, Leeders, Leoders, Ledwein, Leuthe and Thelen. These names all have the same origin as Lether and are all variants of the same German family name.
No matter what spelling of the surname is used, Letther is a common German family name that has been found around the world. It likely first emerged in Germany in the nineteenth century and has spread with German immigration. It has many variants and related surnames, though all are based on the same German family name.
Famous people with the name Letther
- Jessica Letther, American screenwriter and aviator
- Ben Letther, British actor
- Brian Letther, American investor
- Arnie Letther, American professional basketball player
- Michael Letther, American actor
- Everett Letther, American business magnate
- Ken Letther, American sculptor
- Jerry Letther, American musician
- Suzanne Letther, American author
- Pat Letther, American journalist
- Gina Letther, American soccer player
- Dave Letther, American comedian
- Tony Letther, American entrepreneur
- Alan Letther, American scientist
- Thomas Letther, American attorney
- Hugo Letther, American doctor
- Jim Letther, American politician
- Rachel Letther, English tennis player
- Elizabeth Letther, American actress
- Kelly Letther, American businesswoman