Povy History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsThe name Povy has a history dating as far back as the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person with the characteristics of an owl. Often nicknames described strong traits or attributes that people wished to emulate in a specific animal. In the pre-Christian era, many pagan gods and demigods were believed to be a mixture of animals and humans, such as the Greek god Pan who was the god of flocks and herds and was represented as a man with the legs, horns and ears of a goat. In the Middle Ages, anthropomorphic ideas, which attributed human qualities and form to gods or animals, were held about the characters of other living creatures. They were based on the creature's habits. Moreover, these associations were reflected in folk-tales, mythology, and legends which portrayed animals behaving as humans. Early Origins of the Povy familyThe surname Povy was first found in Gloucestershire where the name Povey is a provincialism for an owl. 1 Early History of the Povy familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Povy research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1621, 1650, 1652, 1660, 1673, 1679, 1690, 1702, 1705, 1706 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Povy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Povy Spelling VariationsSpelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Povy have been found, including Povey, Povy and others. Early Notables of the Povy familyNotables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Povey (1613-1705) FRS, London merchant and politician, active in colonial affairs from the 1650s, he was a member from 1660 of Charles II's Council for Foreign Plantations.
Charles Povey (c. 1652-1743), was an English miscellaneous writer... Migration of the Povy family to IrelandSome of the Povy family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Povy, or a variant listed above: Povy Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
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