| ![Show Contents]() Leva History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Leva belongs to the early history of France, in the much fought over region of Normandy. It is a product of the family's residency in Normandy. Early Origins of the Leva familyThe surname Leva was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy. One of the first records of the family was Ralph and John Leveske, who were listed there from 1180-98 according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 1 The root name, Eveske, means "bishop." Interestingly, while few of the family migrated to England after the Norman Conquest, Henry Eveske was listed as living there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. Robert Levesque, born in 1645, son of Pierre Levesque and Marie Gaumont, was a carpenter that arrived in New France (Quebec) from Normandy. He married Jeanne Le Chevalier in Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 22 April 1679 and together they had six children, three of which were sons that carried on the name Levesque. Robert was buried in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 3 September 1699. 2 Early History of the Leva familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leva research. Another 192 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1634, 1675, 1792, 1807, 1809 and 1815 are included under the topic Early Leva History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Leva Spelling VariationsChanges of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Leva, including Levesque, Lévesque, Levecke, Levek, Leveque, Lévèque, Lavesque, Levèque, Levesques, Levecque, Levecques, Lavecque, Levècque, Lévèque, Levéque and many more. Early Notables of the Leva familyAnother 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leva Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Leva familyMigration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Leva were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Leva were Marie Levesque settled in Virginia in 1700; Paul Levesque, aged 14; settled in New Orleans in 1820; Alexandre Levesque, aged 17; settled in New Orleans in 1820.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Leva (post 1700) | + |
- Carlo Leva (1930-2020), Italian production designer, known for his work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West and The Cat o' Nine Tails
- The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
- Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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