Lefever

This is an Olde French occupational name deriving from the Olde French "fevere" or "fevre" meaning a "smith". In England, the name is first recorded in the early half of the 13th century. One Abraham le Fevre appears in the 1248 Fine Court Rolls of Essex. Several Huguenot families bore this name. Jacques Le Fevre, a native of Etaples in Picardy (Northern France), became a distinguished professor of the University of Paris. In 1523, he translated the four Gospels into French. A French physician, Nicasius Le Fevre, from Anjou (North West France), was appointed chemist to Charles II (1660-1685), with a fee of 150 a year. In the modern idiom the name has ten spelling variations including Feaver(s), Fever(s), Lefe(a)ver, Le Fevre etc. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger le Fevere which was dated 1243, in the "Assize Court Rolls of Somerset" during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman" 1216 - 1272 Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.