Show ContentsDevost History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Devost

What does the name Devost mean?

The surname Devost is a topographic surname, which was 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 an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, 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 Devost is a contraction of an Old French phrase meaning beautiful valley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place at one time.

Early Origins of the Devost family

The surname Devost was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat from ancient times in the town of Volnay in the district of Beaune.

Jean de Vaux was registered in 1295 as a squire in the fief at Volnay and is thought to be the patriarch of the family. Large areas of land were exchanged at the hands of Jean de Vaux who sold much of the family lands at Antigny to the Duke of Burgundy.

Nicolas De Veau, son of Henri and Anne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in the province of Quebec he married Marie-Anne Tremblay, daughter of Jacques, at Ange-Gardien on 4th October 1769. 1

Early History of the Devost family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Devost research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1555, 1666, 1669 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Devost History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Devost Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Beliveau, Béliveau, Belivaux, Bélivaux, Belliveau, Bélliveau, Bellivaux, Béllivaux, Belleveau, Bellevaux, de Bellevau and many more.

Early Notables of the Devost family

Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Devost Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Devost migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Devost Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Jeffre Devost, aged 59, arrived in New York in 1910 aboard the ship "Chicago" from Havre, France 2
  • Delia Devost, aged 45, arrived in New York in 1910 aboard the ship "Chicago" from Havre, France 2
  • Lea Devesta Devost, aged 25, originally from Rossiano, Italy, arrived in New York in 1922 aboard the ship "Patria" from Naples, Italy 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Devost (post 1700) +

  • Matthew Devost, American co-founder and president of the Terrorism Research Center in 1996
  • Brent Devost, Canadian founder of the Edge School, a private school that combines athletics with a strong emphasis on academics in Alberta, Canada; at least four future NHL players graduated from there


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result


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