LEECH members around the world

LEECH Family History

This interesting surname has two distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, Leach may have originated as an occupational name for a physician, from the Olde English pre 7th Century "laece", one who practises healing, a physician. The above meaning was brought about as a result of the medicinal use of the leech for healing by blood-letting. The surname may, however, also have been a nickname from the bloodsucking creature, denoting a particularly demanding person, one eager to extract maximum advantage from a given situation. A quotation from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" reads: "The divel made a reve to preche, Or of a souter a shipman, or a leche"...