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He was born in 1552, during a time when his father leased Hayes Barton from the Duke family of Otterton. He was half brother to Sir Humphrey and Sir John Gilbert, from his mother's first marriage. He had a brother, Carew, and sister, Margaret.
The spelling used in those days was rather erratic and thus "Raleigh" is just one of the (over 40) ways in which his surname was written. He used numerous of these spellings, with "Rawleigh", "Ralegh" and "Rawley" being more often used than the currently accepted version. His name was pronounced "raw lie" and it is said he is never known to have used the modern "Raleigh" spelling.
