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Leeth Coat of Arms / Leeth Family CrestThis surname of LEETH was from the town or territory of Leith, Midlothian. There are three stories relating to the histories of the Leeths. Firstly that they held the barony of Restalrig, and that the property was carried by an heiress to an ancestor of the Logans of Restalrig. Secondly that Restalrig gave a surname to its early owners, and that it is not till the 15th century that Leiths are to be found holding some lands there; they were burgesses of Edinburgh and gave their name to Leith Wynde. And finally that the founder of the family of Leith of Harthill in the parish of Oyne, was William de Lethe, burgess of Aberdeen, which he represented in parliament in 1367. The first people in Scotland to acquire fixed surnames were the nobles and great landowners, who called themselves, or were called by others, after the lands they possessed. Surnames originating in this way are known as territorial. Formerly lords of baronies and regalities and farmers were inclined to magnify their importance and to sign letters and documents with the names of their baronies and farms instead of their Christian names and surnames. The abuse of this style of speech and writing was carried so far that an Act was passed in the Scots parliament in 1672 forbidding the practice and declaring that it was allowed only to noblemen and bishops to subscribe by their titles. Other records of the name mention Laurence de LETH, who was an alderman of Aberdeen in 1388, and Gilbert of LETH was documented in Edinburgh in 1327. John de LETHE was the provost of Linlithgow in 1330. and Thomas of LETH appears as a witness in Kirkwall in 1391. John of LETHE, was granted a safe conduct to travel into England for one month in the year 1420.The associated coat of arms for this name are recorded in J.B Rietstaps Armorial General. Illustrated by V & H.V Rolland's. This monumental work took 23 years to complete and 85,000 coats of Arms are included in this work. |
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