In England
The name was introduced with the arrival of the Normans with William the Conqueror.
Gautier or Walter de Lacy is mentioned on the Falaise Roll as one of the Knights who accompanied William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He and his brother Ilbert originated from the area of Lassy in the Calvados region of Normandy.
The town of Clitheroe was granted to the de Lacy family in 1121.
Burnley Borough Council Coat of Arms still bears what is known as the Lacy Knot in recognition of this.
Alternative spellings of the name include Laci, Lacy, Lacey and Lascy
In Ireland
The surname Lacey was first found in County Limerick, Ireland where the family had been granted lands by Strongbow after the invasion of Ireland in 1172
According to information gathered from the 1891 census for England and Wales the widest distribution for the surname was in Cheshire, Yorkshire and the Pennines and around the area of the Wash.