Show ContentsBeville History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Beville family

The surname Beville was first found in Cornwall where conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Gwarnock, held by the Sir de Beville from the Earl of Moron, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. [1]

"The Bevills, sprung probably from the Norman [(William the Conqueror)] of Hastings, were seated in Cornwall. Matilda daughter and co-heir of John Bevill, Esq. of Gwarnock, married Sir Richard Granville, of Buckland, Marshal of Calais, temp. Henry VIII., and had a son, Sir Richard Granville, a famous sea captain in the time of Elizabeth, whose grandson was the renowned Sir Bevill Granville, one of the boldest and most successful of the Cavalier commanders. His last action was at Lansdown Hill, near Bath, and there he terminated his gallant career by an heroic death." [2]

"On a barton called Polterworgie, [in the parish of St. Kew] was a seat of the Bevilles, although at present nothing but a farm house remains." [3]

They were descended from Le Sire de Beville from Beuville near Caen in Normandy. [4] The Sire married a Gwarnack heiress.

The Domesday Book of 1086 lists William de Beevilla as holding lands in Suffolk at that time and Matthew de Beyvill witnessed a charter of Henry II. (Mon. ii. 247). Richard de Bevill was seneschal of the Archbishop of York, 1301. [5]

In those days the name became widely influential and populated throughout southern England in Essex at Wykes priory, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire was known in eleven different counties undertook a variety of spellings.

Early History of the Beville family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beville research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1075, 1165, 1179, 1286, 1301, 1316, 1317, 1348, 1350, 1381, 1390, 1430, 1432, 1434, 1480, 1487, 1510, 1511, 1517, 1533 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Beville History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beville Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Bevill, Beville, Bevile, Bevell, Bevel, Bevil, Beavil, Beavill, Beaville, Biville, Buiville, Buivill, Boiville, Boisville, Boville, Boyville, Belville, Bovile and many more.

Early Notables of the Beville family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • One lineage includes: Sir Richard de Welles Bevill (c. 1286-1316); Robert de Beyvll (de Beville) (1317-1348); John de Beyville (c. 1350-1432); Thomas Beville, de Beville (c. 1390-1434); William Bevill...


United States Beville migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Beville or a variant listed above:

Beville Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Beville, who was on record in Boston in 1869

Contemporary Notables of the name Beville (post 1700) +

  • Clarence Benjamin Beville (1877-1937), American Major League Baseball player
  • Robert Beville (d. 1824), English barrister-at-law who was called to the bar at the Inner Temple between 1795 and 1799, and practised on the Norfolk circuit and at the Ely assizes, as well as in London and Middlesex, until 1807 [6]
  • Stephen Beville, English composer, pianist, writer and champion of classical music
  • Henry Monte Beville (1875-1955), American Major League Baseball player


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
  3. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  4. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  5. 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)
  6. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 17 June. 2019


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