Leggat is a surname from a group of related surnames all connected back to the Latin word legatus. It has been stated to be a Scottish variant of the surname Leggett. The name may have once referred to someone who worked as a legate or ambassador, especially one from the Papal States or for the papacy, or someone sent on a legation, becoming an occupational surname from Middle English. It also may have referred to someone who played the role of a foreign legate in a pageant. Other proposed origins exists, such as a diminutive of a personal name or as a locational surname.
Notable people with the surname include: Ashley Leggat (born 1986), Canadian actress Gordon Leggat (1926–1973), New Zealand cricketer and cricket administrator Graham Leggat (1934–2015), Scottish soccer player Ian Leggat (born 1930), New Zealand cricketer Richard Leggat (born 1960), New Zealand cricketer and public administrator
See also Leggatt Leggatt (surname)
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