Prevel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• France

Etymology of Prevel

The first family to use the name Prevel lived in the French region called Gascogne during the Middle Ages. Prevel was derived from the Old French personal name, Pepis, meaning awe inspiring or terrible.

Early Origins of the Prevel family

Early History of the Prevel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prevel research. Another 255 words (18 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Prevel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prevel Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Prevel, including Pépin, Pépain, Péppin, Péppain, Péping, Pépine, Pépins, Le Pépin and many more.

Early Notables of the Prevel family

More information is included under the topic Early Prevel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prevel Ranking

In France, the name Prevel is the 6,778^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Prevel family

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Prevel has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Prevel were Paul Pépin settled in Carolina in 1695-1696; Madeleine Pépin settled in Carolina in 1695-1696; Andrew Pépin settled in New York in 1775.