Doval History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

The noble surname Doval originated in the region of Maine, in France. Doval is a topographic surname, which is a type of hereditary surname. Topographic names were 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 individuals and their homelands, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, people who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original villages, 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 Doval is derived from the French word "vallée," which means "valley," and literally means "of the valley."

Early Origins of the Doval family

The surname Doval was first found in Maine, where they held a family seat from very early times.

Many members of this family were deeply involved in the events of the times, including the French Revolution. Charles François Marie Duval, a Lawyer, was elected to the Legislature in 1791 as a Deputy of Ille-et-Vilaine, later he became a member of the Convention where he was opposing Robespierre. Charles founded the "Journal des Hommes Libres" and under the Empire he was named Chief of the Office of General Administration.

Another distinctive member at this time, Jean Maurice Duval, Baron, began his career as an Auditor for the State Council in 1809 and in 1810 he became a Prefect. He carried out his duties aggressively and in 1840 he was made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. During the late 1800's, Émile-Victor Duval, the General, was the Military Chief of Paris. He was unsuccessful in fighting a "versaillaise" army at Châtillon and as a result, was captured and later killed on the order of Vinoy.

Not all of the family remained in France as the Huguenots of Plymouth, England list "one of the refugees Duval has left his name to the headland of Devil's Point." 1

Pierre Duval, born in 1604, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. He settled in Quebec with his wife, Jeanne Labarbe, born in 1605, and their six children. Four of their children passed away while they were living in Quebec. Two of his sons, Pierre and Romain, drowned, Marin was shot, and the fourth died in a fire at île d'Orléans in 1663. 2

Early History of the Doval family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Doval research. Another 29 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1618, 1643, 1670, 1683 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Doval History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Doval Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Duval, Du Val, Duvall, Duwall, Duvalle, Duvalles, Duvale, Duvales, Du Vall, Du Valle, Du Valles, Du Vale and many more.

Early Notables of the Doval family

Notable amongst the family at this time was General Émile-Victor Duval; and Pierre Duval (1618-1683), a French geographer from Abbeville. Claude Duval (1643-1670), was and English highwayman, born of poor parents at Domfront, Normandy, in 1643. "A report which was current during his lifetime, that he was the son of a cook in Smock Alley, Without Bishopsgate, is sufficiently discredited. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Paris, where he remained in service till the Restoration, when he came to England in attendance on the Duke of Richmond. It was not...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Doval Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Doval migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Doval Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juan Doval, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1816 3
Manuel Doval, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1840 3
Francisco Doval, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1860 3
Jose Doval, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1870 3

Citations +

Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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)