Hello Ian,
The surnames you cite certainly sound similar, however, that where the similarity ends. They come form completely different origins.
Leitch/Leche is comes from the O.E., laece, 'doctor'.
The origins of "Leeke", "Leke", "Lake /Leake/Leke and variations originate from the North Riding of Yorkshire, Leake in Lincolnshire and Nottingham or Leek in Staffordshire, and related to someone working with or living near water.
I can only speak for my own family tree, anyone using the two names interchangeably, will rapidly find they are " barking up the wrong genealogical trees" :-)
The origins of the Leitch tree are from early 16th century Scotland, and the name varies little over this time period. There are many translation errors from the original documents, birth, marriage etc., and quite a few
spelling errors (this is common even today).
The earliest "Leitch" spelling I know of, is found in 1608 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Apart from a reversal of the "i" and "e" or an extra "e" on the end it hasnt changed. I did find one translation error to "Litch" in the 18th century.
Personally speaking, the best process is to use is only to use original documents, Census and historical texts, and check them where possible in geographical and time context.
The origin of the Leche name can be traced back to Anglo-Normal times, and was originally d'Leche, in North Wales and Chester. There is an alternative spelling, mainly found in England, with the same origins, however spelt as "Leech" or "Leach".
The Leche surname then moves north, and in the early 14th century on the Island of Bute, in Scotland, and is intertwined with the "Stewarts".
Over the next 300 years this changes to "Leich" and "Leitch" before spreading to Edinburgh,Fife and Stirling, then more recently moving out of the UK.
No doubt there may be cases of "Leake" adopting Leitch as a surname, but I haven't found any instances of this yet!
However, the overall family tree on Geni will only be as accurate as the accuracy of the individual profiles created, linking one family tree to another.
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