Recorded in several forms including Latliff, Latlieffe, Latlief, Lathlief and others, this is arguably now an English surname, but one clearly of French origins. It is residential from a place according to the Dictionnaire Etymologique de France called L'hatif, although we have not been able to identify such a village nor have we been able to find any French recordings of the surname! This is not entirely unique. The French church registers of births, deaths and marriages were almost totally destroyed during the famous or infamous Revolution of 1792. At this time of turmoil the Catholic Church itself was banned for over a decade until revived by Emperor Napoleon. If as we believe this surname was both rare and probably Huguenot protestant, it is possible that it has not been recorded subsequently in France as all name holders may have left. Certainly it is recorded in the surviving church registers of the city of London, and in the famous French Huguenot church of Threadneedle Street from Napoleonic times. These recordings seem to be based mainly around one family whose head was Barnet Latlieff, and who married at least two French women. The first recording is when he married Judeth Bardeux at Christ Church Spitalfields, on March 18th 1810, and eighteen years later when as Barnett Latlieff he married Esther Hautot at Threadneedle Street Fernch church, on March 9th 1828.

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