Couves

This surname recorded as Couve, Couves, Couvet, and Covet, is of French origins. As a refugee (Huguenot) surname it was introduced into England at the end of the 17th Century, by people fleeing the religious persecution that was rife on the continent. This followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, by King Louis X1V, and the loss of protection and rights of the protestants in France. The surname is probably topographical, for someone who either lived by a sheltered bay, or more likely an area sheltered by trees. The formation is similar to couvert, meaning a wood or covert, and originally from the Latin "cooperio", to cover. In this case the surname is from a village called "Couve" in the department known as "Cotes du Nord". Sadly in the religious "passion", almost all early registers relating to protestant families, were deliberately destroyed, even those of high rank that hjad served France for many generations. In this case we do know that a coat of arms was granted to the family before 1680. It has the blazon of three red escallops on a silver field, the signs of the pilgrim to the Holy Land. Early examples of the surname taken from English church registers of the period include Joseph Couve, the son of Jacque Couve, christened at Spitalfields, London, on January 5th 1724, and Thomas Couves, christened at St Pauls church, Deptford, on September 13th 1801.The first recorded spelling of the family name is probably that of Marie Couve, the daughter of Henri Couve, christened at St Jacque Angers, Maine et Loire, France, on December 1st 1634, during the reign of King Louis X111, 1610 - 1643.