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The name Reavis finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxons of England. It was given to one who worked as a local representative of a lord, a reeve, sheriff, steward or bailiff. 1 2 The surname Reavis was originally derived from the Old English (ge)refa which referred to a representative. 3 The name is "an official appointed by the lord of the manor to supervise his tenants' work." 4
The surname Reavis was first found in Leicestershire where Walter and James le Reve were listed in 1220. John atte Reuese was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. The plural form of the name which is actually most common today dates back to 1332 when Richard del Reves was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Lancashire in 1332. 3
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Sampson le Reve, Suffolk; and John le Reve, Cambridgeshire. 5
In Somerset, William le Reve, John le Reveson, and William le Reveson were listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 6
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Reavis research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1594, 1608, 1611, 1618, 1638, 1647, 1658, 1660, 1662, 1667, 1672, 1673, 1678, 1686, 1726, 1729, 1737, 1818, 1861, 1865 and 1900 are included under the topic Early Reavis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Reavis has been recorded under many different variations, including Reeve, Reve, Reave, Reaves, Reeves and others.
Distinguished members of the family include Edmund Reeve (1585-1647), English Justice of the Common Pleas, son of Christopher Reeve of Felthorpe, Norfolk; Edmund Reeve (died 1660), English divine, vicar of Hayes-cum-Norwood, Middlesex; Thomas Reeve (1594-1672), English Royalist divine, born at Langley, Norfolk, son of Thomas Reeve, a husbandman; John Reeve (1608-1658), an English plebeian prophet, believed the voice of God had instructed him to found a Third Commission in...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Reavis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Reavis is the 5,146th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 7
Another 196 words (14 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Reavis or a variant listed above: Francis Reeve who settled in Virginia in 1635; Thomas Reeve settled in St. Christopher in 1635; John Reeve settled in New Jersey in 1664; John Reeve was banished to Barbados in 1685.