The most common is derived from Old English lēah, meaning a meadow or forest clearing.
[citation needed] The name in Ireland has several diverse origins, resulting in widely dispersed clusters of the name in South Western, Western (Galway) and North Eastern Counties.
[5] One recognized root was the anglicization of the Irish surname "Ó Laoidigh" which resulted in several variants, such as Lee, Lea, and Maclee.
[citation needed] The 1901 Irish census[7] list 4912 entries primarily in Galway, Dublin, Cork, Antrim, Limerick and Down counties.
Originating from Norway as "Lie", this surname was altered when it arrived in the Americas in the late 1800s to fit the English language's pronunciation.