Note: This article concerns the word "Lea." For the saint, see Saint Lea.

Lea is an Old English word meaning a "clearing", an "open piece of grassland" or a "grove". It is common in English town names, in the north it generally uses the pure form of '-lea' whilst in the south it generally uses a changed spelling such as "-ley" or "-leigh".

Examples are:

• Wembley - Wembla's Clearing (Greater London)
• Purley - Peartree Grove (Greater London)
• Hadleigh - Heather Clearing (Essex)

But note these exceptions:

• Beverley - Beaver Stream (East Riding of Yorkshire)
• Bewdley - Beautiful Place (beau lieu) (Worcestershire)

See also

• Lea, Gainsborough - a place in Lincolnshire
• Lea, Lincolnshire
• Lea, Derbyshire
• Lea, Shropshire
• Lea, Herefordshire
• Lea, Wiltshire

The word is still current in poetic language, meaning "meadow" or "pasture".

Lea is also:

• a Jewish alternate transliteration for Leah.
• an alternate spelling for the River Lee.