Leavitt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Leavitt family

The surname Leavitt was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. William Levett (ca.1200–ca.1270) was lord of the manor of the South Yorkshire village of Hooton Levitt. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Leuiet, held by a Norman noble who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Leavitt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leavitt research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1495, 1554, 1586, 1594, 1608, 1630, 1634, 1655, 1668, 1691, 1693, 1700, 1711, 1725 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Leavitt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leavitt Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Levet, Levett, Levitt, Leavett, Leavitt, Livett and many more.

Early Notables of the Leavitt family

More information is included under the topic Early Leavitt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leavitt Ranking

In the United States, the name Leavitt is the 2,458^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 2

Leavitt migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Leavitt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Leavitt, who landed in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1634 3
Thomas Leavitt (1616–1696) was an English Puritan who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635, one of the earliest permanent settlers of the Province of New Hampshire
Thomas Leavitt, who landed in New England in 1639 3

Leavitt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William B Leavitt, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
Stephen Leavitt, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
J B Leavitt, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Leavitt (post 1700) +

Charles Wellford Leavitt (1871-1928), American landscape architect, urban planner, and civil engineer
Thomas Leavitt (b. 1920), American politician, Member of New Hampshire State Senate 1st District, 1876-77; Probate judge in New Hampshire
Thomas Leavitt, American politician, U.S. Consul in SAINT John, 1835-43
Sheldon C. Leavitt, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Bethlehem, 1820, 1822, 1824-25, 1828
Scott Leavitt (1879-1966), American Republican politician, Served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; U.S. Representative from Montana 2nd District, 1923-33; Defeated, 1932; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Montana, 1932; Candidate for U.S. Senator from Montana, 1934 4
Sam D. Leavitt, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maine, 1876; Mayor of Eastport, Maine, 1893, 1898-1900; Defeated, 1895 4
Samuel Leavitt Jr., American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Washington, 1826-27, 1830, 1835
Ruth B. Leavitt, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 1948 4
Ray H. Leavitt, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Utah, 1944 (member, Committee on Rules and Order of Business) 4
R. H. Leavitt, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Dakota, 1932 4
... (Another 56 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, November 24) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html