Fevier

This very interesting surname is of medieval French origins. It appeared in England during two completely separate and distinct periods. The first was early Norman, after the famous Norman Conquest of 1066, when the first Le Fevres or Le Fevieres were recorded, and again in the 17th century when their successors were Huguenot refugees. However spelt the surname is occupational for a skilled iron worker, one who could produce delicate work such as tracery. In England the name has developed into some extraordinary spellings including: Fever, Feaver, Fevier, Feaveryear, Feveryear, Feaveer and Faveryear, but all derive as transpositions from Feviere, and show the inability of the English at anytime in their history to correctly spell foreign surnames. The first known recording is probably that of Roger le Fevere of Somerset in the Assize Rolls of 1243, whilst John Feveryear apears in the Subsidy Tax rolls of Suffolk in 1524. Other examples in the surviving registers of Greater London include Rachel Fever, christened at St. Botolph's Bishopgate, on January 31st 1562; Devid Febure at the French Huguenot Church, Spitalfields, on November 28th 1704, and Catharine Feviere, the daughter of Henry Feviere, who was christened at St. Mary's Whitechapel, on June 3rd 1744. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.