Devos History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Germany

The surname Devos is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. The name Devos is a contraction of an Old French phrase meaning beautiful valley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place at one time.

Early Origins of the Devos family

The surname Devos was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat from ancient times in the town of Volnay in the district of Beaune.

Jean de Vaux was registered in 1295 as a squire in the fief at Volnay and is thought to be the patriarch of the family. Large areas of land were exchanged at the hands of Jean de Vaux who sold much of the family lands at Antigny to the Duke of Burgundy.

Nicolas De Veau, son of Henri and Anne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in the province of Quebec he married Marie-Anne Tremblay, daughter of Jacques, at Ange-Gardien on 4th October 1769. 1

Early History of the Devos family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Devos research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1555, 1666, 1669 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Devos History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Devos Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Beliveau, Béliveau, Belivaux, Bélivaux, Belliveau, Bélliveau, Bellivaux, Béllivaux, Belleveau, Bellevaux, de Bellevau and many more.

Early Notables of the Devos family

Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Devos Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Devos World Ranking

In the United States, the name Devos is the 12,857^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Devos is ranked the 663^rd most popular surname with an estimated 7,160 people with that name. 3 And in Netherlands, the name Devos is the 73^rd popular surname with an estimated 12,613 people with that name. 4 South Africa ranks Devos as 943^rd with 7,292 people. 5

Devos migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Devos Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Andries DeVos, who arrived in New Netherland(s) in 1640 6
Balthasaer DeVos, who arrived in New York in 1662 6
Balthazaer DeVos, who landed in New Netherland(s) in 1662 6
Catherine Renard DeVos, who arrived in New York, NY in 1662 6
Anna DeVos, who landed in New Netherland(s) in 1665 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Devos Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Pierre Henry Devos, who landed in Louisiana in 1718-1724 6

Devos Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Singis DeVos, aged 6, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1847 6
Auvan DeVos, aged 40, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1847 6
Elias Phillip DeVos, aged 20, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 6
Jacob DeVos, aged 9, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1847 6
Jan DeVos, aged 45, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1847 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Devos (post 1700) +

Richard DeVos (1926-2018), American businessman and politician, co-founder of Amway; Forbes ranked him the 60th wealthiest person in the United States, and the 205th richest in the world in 2012 7
Helen June DeVos (1927-2017), née Van Wesep, an American philanthropist and political donor, wife of Richard DeVos
Elisabeth "Betsy" DeVos (b. 1958), née Prince, an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and education activist, 11th United States Secretary of Education (2017-)
Martha DeVos, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1944 7
Margaret DeVos, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1964 7
John Devos, American politician, United Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1936 7
Dick DeVos (b. 1955), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State Board of Education; Elected 1990 7
Cornelis de Vos (1585-1651), Flemish painter

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
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 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html