Leith

Meaning: (River, Harbor, Water, Wet, Damp, Broad River, Lion, This intriguing name is of medieval Scottish origin and is locational from the coastal town of Leith near Edinburgh, which takes its name from the river at whose mouth it stands, and is derived from the Gaelic 'lite' meaning wet, and is comparable to the Welsh 'llaith', damp or moist. There are reported to be three fables as to the origin of the Leiths, the first being that they held the barony of Restalrig, secondly, that they were burgesses of Edinburgh, who gave their name to Leith Wynd, and thirdly, that the founder of the family of Leith of Harthill, in the parish of Oyne, was William de Lethe, burgess of Aberdeen. The following examples illustrate the name development after 1342; Laurence de Leth (1388), Robert de Leithe (1406), Leithe (1641), James Leith married Christian Watson on December 27th 1670 at Canongate, Midlothian. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gilbert of Leth, which was dated 1327, Edinburgh, Scotland, during the reign of King Robert 1, 'The Bruce', 1306-1329. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Leith )

Origin: (Scottish, Celtic, Gaelic, English (Rare), Arabic)

Pronunciation: (Liy-TH)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I saw this name on a fellow bloggers blog, Apolla13. I think this is a really cool name. It reminds me of the name Leif though the meanings and origins are far different; I knew a guy in High School named Leif. I really love the meanings and for anyone looking for a water meaning name then look no further for this name is chockfull of water meanings. It has an interesting history and is even a town and river in Scotland. It seems a nice old name with many different variants.

To me I think this would work best in a Fantasy or Sci-Fi novel as it has that historical look but with an elfish or time travelers kind of look which is odd for me to see but I do see it. Not to say this couldn’t work in the modern era or even a Historical Fiction novel. Also would look good in a romance novel as this is an attractive name, I can see a gorgeous club owner in circa 1920’s New Orleans being named this, lol, very specific there!