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LEITCH Family History

Recorded in the spellings of Leach, Leech, and Leitch, this is an English surname. It was originally given either as a metonymic occupational name, or to some nameholders as a topographical name. Both origins are Olde English pre 7th century. The first is from the word 'laece' meaning 'a leech', and as such describing a doctor, one who applied 'leeches' for medical reasons. Secondly if topographical it derives from the word 'loecc, from an earlier word 'lacu' and meaning water. It therefore describes a person who lived by or worked on water.