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Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources
☙

Lettice f. Latin laetitia 'joy, gladness, delight'.

The English diminutive Lete is witnessed in 1379 in the relational byname Letesoñ (WRYPT1 p. 318).

England
Latin
● 1246 Lecie PSS-II p. 6; 1279–80 Letice (dat) WaHR-SK p. 57; 1340xc1450 Leticia (nom) CovGuild-1 p. 1; 1379 Leticia (nom) WRYPT1 p. 8; 1381 Leticia (nom) Suffolk1381 p. 75, Letitia (nom) ibid. p. 118, Liticia (nom) ibid. p. 81; 1588 Letecia (nom) RegBeb p. 119
◑ 1377 Lecia (nom) FenPT-2 p. 6
Early Modern English
● 1530 Lettes LIWill-III p. 50; 1531 Letice SaxhamSf p. 122, Lettice ibid. p. 127; 1540 Lettis StAnthonlin p. 2; 1543 Letys BarnstapleBap p. 3; 1546 Lettes ibid. p. 5; 1553 Letys ibid. p. 8; 1560 Lettis HAmar-vol9 p. 67; 1562 Lettys BarnstapleBap p. 12; 1575 Lettice RegBath p. 3; 1578 Lettice BUmar-vol9 p. 148; 1582 Lettice DEmar-vol2 p. 7; 1584 Lettes BEmar-vol2 p. 130; 1585 Lettisse ibid. p. 3; 1586 Lettis RegPat p. 36; 1591 Lettice bruton1 p. 51; 1592 Lettis StAnthonlin p. 35; 1597 Lettice DEmar-vol2 p. 34, bruton1 p. 123; 1598/9 Lettice RegPat p. 42; 1599 Lettise ibid. p. 114
France
Latin
● 1180 Leticia (nom) RotScaNor p. 33, Leticie (gen) ibid. p. 32
◑ 1135 Lecelina (nom) clairvaux-12thc 7; 1147 Lescelina (abl) ibid. 14; 1179 Lecelina (abl) ibid. 176
Latvia
Latin
● 1300 Leticien (gen) RigSB 852
Cite as: A. Brown, S.L. Uckelman. "Lettice". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2021, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2021/1/name/Lettice.