This is an Olde English locational name from the pre 7th Century A.D., and means one resident by the Forda (shallow crossing) over the "laec" (river or fast flowing stream), or from one of the places called Latchford, Lechford and Leckford, in Chester, Oxford, Hampshire etc. The name development has included Wallen de Lecheford (c 1307, Oxford) whilst in 1592, Isabel Lechforde married William Marten at St. Mary Alderney in London, whilst in 1616 Elizabeth Lechford applied for a Marriage Licence to marry one Arthur Knight. The modern spellings include Latchford, Lashford, Letchford and the unusual Luetchford, a local dialect variant of the type associated with Kent-Sussex. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alexander de Lecheford. which was dated 1273, The Hundred Rolls of Oxford. during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. 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.

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