# Leland (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/leland/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,848 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,921 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 63,685 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.8% (4,669 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈliːlənd/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Shortened from McLeland, McClellan, from Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin, "son of servant of (Saint) Faolán (=Little Wolf)".

## Who carries it

Share of people named Leland in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Leland in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Leland

- Charles Godfrey Leland, American folklorist (1824-1903)
- Henry M. Leland, American engineer, machinist, and entrepreneur (1843–1932)
- David Leland, British actor, screenwriter and director
- Evelyn Leland, American astronomer
- Mickey Leland, American politician (1944-1989)
- Brad Leland, American actor

## Similar surnames

Lalonde, Lilienthal.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.