Lee is a common surname in English-speaking countries. There are several distinct origins of the Lee surname. The most common surname of English origin is derived from Middle English lea, meaning "meadow, forest clearing" (see leigh), and is therefore a name describing the bearer's place of residence. In Ireland, Lee has been used to Anglicise Gaelic Laoidhigh, an occupational surname meaning "poet." Spelling variants of both the English and the anglicized Gaelic names include Leigh and Lea. The Lees of Shropshire, West Midlands region of England, notable as the forebears of the colonial American Lee family (members of which include Robert E. Lee, Richard Henry Lee and Zachary Taylor), has a name derived from Norman de Lee.
In the present era, Romany Gypsies in Britain usage of the surname Lee, Leigh, or Legh is derived from the English word "leek," a translation of the Romany Gypsy surname Purrum, meaning "onion." Lee was the 35th most common surname in England and Wales in the 1990s, and the 213th in U.S.A. in 1990.[1] However, this American prevalence is dominated by the name of Asian origin (see the Chinese surname Li or Lee and the Korean surname Lee or Rhee).
A number of places in the US have been named for the various famous people named Lee:
Lee is frequently used as a given name derived from the surname. In the U.S., its popularity as a male first name occurred in the 1890s and as a female first name in the 1950s. Lee is also common as a middle name.