Leah (given name)

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Leah is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. Its meaning is often deciphered as "delicate" or "weary". The name can be traced back to the Biblical matriarch Leah, one of the two wives of Jacob.[1] This name may derive from Hebrew: לֵאָה, romanized: lē’ah, presumably cognate with Akkadian 𒀖 littu, meaning 'wild cow', from Proto-Semitic *layʾ-at- ~ laʾay-at- 'cow'.[citation needed]

In some instances, the name "Leah" may refer to the Old English word léah which means "meadow" or "piece of ground".[2] The word is a common component in Anglo-Saxon place-names and can denote forests, clearings and fields.[3]

  1. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. pp. 165, 166. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
  2. ^ Tichy, Martin Rocek, Ondrej. "Bosworth-Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary online". Bosworth-Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary online. Retrieved 2024-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Stewart, George R. (1962-03-01). "Leah, Woods, and Deforestation as an Influence on Place". Names. 10 (1): 11–20. doi:10.1179/nam.1962.10.1.11. ISSN 1756-2279.