Lavelle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Ireland

The proud French name Lavelle was formed in Brittany (French: Bretagne) when the family resided in a valley. The name Lavelle is derived from the French word "vallée," which means "valley."

Early Origins of the Lavelle family

The surname Lavelle was first found in Brittany, where they held a family seat in the honor of the seigneurie of la Burie.

By the 14th century they had also acquired estates in Brittany at des Fossés, St-Jouan, and du Val. They also held Montrayer, on the Island of Martinique. The Pimodan branch of the family were elevated to the nobility as the Marquis de Pimodan. They also acquired possessions near the border of Flanders, Normandy, and in the Franche-Comté to the south. By 1512 they held a seigneurie at Chenillon in Lorraine. Louise LaVallière was a favourite of Louis XIV, with whom she had four legitimate children.

Pierre Lavallee, born in 1645, son of Pierre and Madeleine, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Marie-Thérèse Leblanc, daughter of Leonard and Marie, on 12th January 1665. 1

Early History of the Lavelle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lavelle research. The years 1385, 1404, 1414, 1620, 1644, 1661, 1664, 1665, 1667, 1673, 1682 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Lavelle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lavelle Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Lavelle is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Lavalle, Lavallée, Lavallee, La Vallee, Levalle, Leval, Lavallière, Lavallier, Levallier, Lavallois, Levallois, Lavallet, Levallet, Lavalet, Levalet, Lavaley, Levaley, Lavalley, Levalley, Lavally, Levally, Lavallière, de Vallée, de Vallee and many more.

Early Notables of the Lavelle family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Guy XIII de Laval, (1385-1414), seigneur of Laval and of Kergorlay, inherited the Laval title through his marriage on 22 January 1404 to Anne de Laval, As daughter and sole heir to Guy XII de Laval, Anne was "dame de Laval", and one of the conditions of the marriage was that any children born to it would...
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lavelle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lavelle Ranking

In the United States, the name Lavelle is the 7,266^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Lavelle migration to the United States +

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Lavelle has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Lavelle were

Lavelle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

E Lavelle, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
Ellen Lavelle, aged 7, who landed in New York in 1864 3
Catharine Lavelle, 40, Ellen Lavelle, 7, Mary Lavelle, 6, and Anthony Lavelle, 5, who all settled in New York in 1864
Anthony Lavelle, aged 5, who arrived in New York in 1864 3
Catharine Lavelle, aged 40, who landed in New York in 1864 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lavelle migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lavelle Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mrs. Mary Lavelle, aged 30 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Larch" departing from the port of Sligo, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in September 1847 4
Mr. Patrick Lavelle, aged 6 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Larch" departing 11th July 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 20th August 1847 but he died on board 5
Mrs. Sarah Lavelle, aged 76 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Royal Adelaide" departing 9th June 1847 from Killala, Ireland; the ship arrived on 9th August 1847 but she died on board 5
Theophile Lavelle was in Labrador in 1883

Contemporary Notables of the name Lavelle (post 1700) +

Matt Lavelle (b. 1970), American jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, alto clarinet, and bass clarinet player.
Gary Lavelle (b. 1949), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1974 to 1987
Rosemary Kathleen "Rose" Lavelle (b. 1995), American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), and for the United States national team
General John Daniel Lavelle (1916-1979), American commander of Seventh Air Force during the Vietnam war, recipient of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (4) and the Air Medal (2)
Dean Lavelle, American wakeboarder and water-skier
William A. Lavelle, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 2000 6
William A. Lavelle, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1956, 1960; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Ohio, 1956, 1972 6
Thomas D. Lavelle, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 13th District, 1928; Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1940 6
John Lavelle, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly 59th District, 2001-; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 2004 6
Edward Paul Lavelle, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Governor of Pennsylvania, 1958, 1970 6
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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/
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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 39)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 83)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html