Raver History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The ancestors of the bearers of the Raver family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in various locations in England. The origins of this surname can be traced back to France where the name was used to denote someone who was a native of La Riviere. The surname Raver was later introduced to England by early French settlers and was used to identify the individuals who lived by the river.

Early Origins of the Raver family

The surname Raver was first found in Buckinghamshire at Worminghall, a parish, in the union of Thame, hundred of Ashendon. " It formerly had a market, granted to John de Rivers in 1304, with a fair on the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul." 1

Early History of the Raver family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Raver research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1110, 1280, 1442, 1483, 1573, 1579, 1601, 1603, 1614, 1615, 1640, 1641, 1651, 1656, 1657, 1660, 1665, 1679, 1695 and 1734 are included under the topic Early Raver History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Raver Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Raver include Rivers, Ryvers, River, Ryver and others.

Early Notables of the Raver family

Distinguished members of the family include Anthony Woodville Rivers (1442-1483), English nobleman; James Rivers (1603-1641), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Lewes (1640) son of Sir John Rivers, 1st Baronet (c. 1579-1651), attended Corpus Christi, Oxford aged 13;Nizel Rivers (1614-c. 1695), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Lewes in 1660; Sir Thomas Rivers, 2nd Baronet...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Raver Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Raver migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Raver or a variant listed above:

Raver Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Heinrich Raver, who arrived in North America in 1854 2

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)