Surname Lavick

[Cowholemania]

hi

im trying to help my girlfriend find a little more out about her surname,
her surname is
Lavick
she and her family have been told that it is polish but her family know of no polish ancestors
there appears to be quite a few Lavicks in the united states and i was wondering if anybody with the same name has looked into it

[dotty.]

well it was quite prolific in East Anglia in the 1700s. where is her family from in recent years?

[craft1948]

The majority of Lavicks appear to be from Staffordshire........

[dotty.]

Looking on the IGI 1537 to 1800 I can't see any from Staffordshire but from 1537 to the late 1600s they were mainly in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire with varaints fo levick or Levicke and then from around 1715 they move across the East Anglia with some families remaining in Debyshire and Notts. I Guess there could be later families spreading into Staffs as it is all the same area,

[dotty.]

Checked IGI 1600 - 1900 for staffs and you are right craft, one or two Lavick families appear in Wolverhampton around 1835 and then by the late 1800s there are around 10 familes living within Staffordshire. They will have migrated into the Potteries in the 1800s from rural derbyshire perhaps

[craft1948]

There is a suggestion on the net that it comes from the French name L'Eveque.........

[dotty.]

I've also just seen it as a nick name meaning 'Lark' going back to Medieval England as Leverick, what does that French word translate as?

[dotty.]

see here:
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Juliana Laveroc, witness, which was dated 1243, in the Assize Court Records of Co. Durham, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as the Frenchman, 1216 - 1272.

[dundurn]

Laverock is the old Scots word for the lark.

[dundurn]

Oh, and l'eveque is a bishop

[dotty.]

It could originally have been either of them then, firstly a nickname meaning 'Lark' in that someone perhaps sang like the Lark or maybe lived near an exaltation of larks (looked that one up lol) or perhaps someone in the 12 - 1300s was renowned for 'larking about' or 'playing the lark' meaning they acted daft. Then also perhaps it could have it's origins as an occupational name as someone working for a Bishop, as the early instances of the name seem to be in possibly Durham, that's not an unreasonable conclusion.

[echokilo]

Eveque is French for Bishop (and possibly also Reverend in some areas)

[echokilo]

Sorry - should have read the whole thread before I got over-excited ... can see you have already been enlightened about French translation.

[echokilo]

Not sure how accurate the detail is, but this may be of interest:

http://surname.sofemi...surname-laverick.html