In Cornwall a common surname is LAITY, a variant (although one I have never seen) is LAIT. It is from Cornish leth-ty meaning milk house or a dairy. It is a name found in Cornwall as far back as 1303. It is also a place-name in 7 parishes in Cornwall. This may be, and in all probability is, an entirely different surname, from LAYT. Sources: Patronymica Cornu-Britannica by Richard Stephen Charnock copyright 1870 Cornish Names by T. F. G. Dexter copyright 1926 A Handbook of Cornish Surnames by G. Pawley White copyright 1972 Gerlyver Sawsnek-Kenowek gans Nicholas Williams copyright 2000 Jim Thompson Belerion Books > Further to my earlier posting on the LAYT name (and all its variations),I > have received some additional information which may have some bearing on my > > original enquiry. > In early history the County of Kent,England,was divided up into sub > divisions called Lathes,these were further subdivided into Hundreds (100 > Families,100 Fighting men,or a 100 hides). > The people who were Serfs? who worked in these Lathes were called LAITs. > If this is true then the LAYT Family were in Kent then Gloucester,Suffolk > ,Norfolk and finally in Yorkshire. > Other indications are that the Family came originally from Eastern > Europe,Estonia ? and moved into England as Jutes. > Does anybody have any info as to whether this true ?

Thanks to your hint I checked my book, "A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames" by Charles Wareing Bardsley and found LAIT, LAYT, & LAIGHT. They all mean "at the lathe" or "barn". Two other apparent variations are LADE and LEATHES. Unfortunately my source does not give locales for the name. Barbara Kernow62@aol.com wrote: >In Cornwall a common surname is LAITY, a variant (although one I have never >seen) is LAIT. > >It is from Cornish leth-ty meaning milk house or a dairy. It is a name found >in Cornwall as far back as 1303. It is also a place-name in 7 parishes in >Cornwall. > >This may be, and in all probability is, an entirely different surname, from >LAYT. > >Sources: >Patronymica Cornu-Britannica by Richard Stephen Charnock copyright 1870 >Cornish Names by T. F. G. Dexter copyright 1926 >A Handbook of Cornish Surnames by G. Pawley White copyright 1972 >Gerlyver Sawsnek-Kenowek gans Nicholas Williams copyright 2000 > >Jim Thompson >Belerion Books > > > > > >>Further to my earlier posting on the LAYT name (and all its variations),I >>have received some additional information which may have some bearing on my >> >>original enquiry. >>In early history the County of Kent,England,was divided up into sub >>divisions called Lathes,these were further subdivided into Hundreds (100 >>Families,100 Fighting men,or a 100 hides). >>The people who were Serfs? who worked in these Lathes were called LAITs. >>If this is true then the LAYT Family were in Kent then Gloucester,Suffolk >>,Norfolk and finally in Yorkshire. >>Other indications are that the Family came originally from Eastern >>Europe,Estonia ? and moved into England as Jutes. >>Does anybody have any info as to whether this true ? >> >> > > > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > >