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Leeming lies a mile east of the current A1(M) road, south of the larger village of Leeming Bar and north of the small hamlet of Londonderry. Nearby is the RAF base of RAF Leeming. Before the opening of the 3-mile (4.8 km) bypass in October 1961, the A1 passed through the village following the of part of Dere Street, parallel and close to the main of the airfield.
The name derives from the river-name, which turned settlement-name. The etymology may be linked with British *lemanio "elm-tree", but there are other possibilities. An archaeological survey undertaken on Kelsall Villa (a roman site near to Leeming Bar) describes it as deriving from the river with Leming meaning bright stream.
In April 2008, the nearby base's remaining Tornado F3 squadron (25 Sqn) was disbanded. The base has been redeveloped as a communications station with the formation of No. 90 Signals Unit, the first elements of which began arriving in 2006. Two flying squadrons remain at the base, No. 100 Squadron RAF and the Northumbria University Air Squadron.
The village churchyard is the burial place of Flt Lt John Quinton GC DFC, who sacrificed himself to save an air cadet by providing the cadet with the only available parachute after a mid-air collision.
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