Tovy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Tovy

What does the name Tovy mean?

Tovy is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The name Tovy came from the Norman personal name Tofig.

Early Origins of the Tovy family

The surname Tovy was first found in Norfolk where they held a family seat from early times. "Tovus, otherwise known as Tovi, came to England with the Conqueror, and acquired several manors in Norfolk. The name is found in [the] Domesday [Book] as Tovi or Tovius." 1

Michael Tovy was Lord Mayor of London (1244-1245.)

Early History of the Tovy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tovy research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1692 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Tovy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tovy Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Tovy are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Tovy include Tovey, Tovy and others.

Early Notables of the Tovy family

Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tovy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tovy migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Tovy, or a variant listed above:

Tovy Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Tovy, who arrived in Maryland in 1648 2

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)