Vess History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Vess surname is thought to be derived from the Old French word "devise," meaning a "dweller at the boundary." It falls into the class of local names, that is, names derived from a place where the original bearer once lived or held land. It is plausible that some bearers of Vess took the name from one of several places in England: Viza in Ashwater, county Devon, Vyse Wood in Morthoe, county Devon, or Devizes in Wiltshire. 1

Early Origins of the Vess family

The surname Vess was first found in Sussex, where Robert atte Vise was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls for that county in the year 1327. A few years later, John de la Vise was listed in Devon in 1330. 1 "Vyse is the name of an old Elstree family. John Vyse was vicar of Willian in the reign of Henry VIII. " 2

Early History of the Vess family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Vess research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1330, 1601, 1710, 1741, 1746, 1770, 1784, 1812, 1816, 1825 and 1853 are included under the topic Early Vess History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vess Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Devise, Vises,Vize, Vise, Vice and others.

Early Notables of the Vess family

Notable among the family at this time was Richard Vyse (1746-1825), English general, born at Lichfield on 11 July 1746, was the younger son of William Vyse (1710-1770), canon residentiary and treasurer of Lichfield, and younger brother of William Vyse (1741-1816), canon residentiary and chancellor of Lichfield.Hi son, Richard William...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Vess Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Vess Ranking

In the United States, the name Vess is the 12,924^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Vess migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Vess Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Franz Vess, aged 43, who landed in St Louis, Missouri in 1844 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Vess (post 1700) +

Charles Vess (b. 1951), American fantasy illustrator and comics artist

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)