Jeavons

There are two possible origins for this early medieval surname recorded in the spellings of Jevon, Jeavons and Jeavons. The first is from the Latin "Juvenis" meaning 'the young one', through the French "Jovene" and introduced by the Normans into England after the 1066 invasion as 'Iouene'. In this form, the original name was a term of endearment as in Bartholomew le Joevene of Bedfordshire who is recorded in the charters of the Abbey of Ramsay in the year 1254. Other recordings which are clearly from this French source include Robert Le Jeofne in the Fees Rolls of Northampton in 1254, and Thomas Le Geven in the 1279 Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. However, the popular origin is probably Welsh as in Rirt ap Jevan ap Eigon in 1393, with the name being a combination of John and Evan. As a result we have the further development to Jevanne first recorded in the charters of Glamorgan for the year 1459. It is one of the curiosities of the Welsh surname that both elements John and Evan mean John! Further recordings from the Welsh sources include Hopkin ap Jevan of Glamorgan, who was registered as a student at Oxford University in 1594, and Thomas Jeavon of London, whose wife Ann, was buried at the church of St Thomas the Apostle, on March 1st 1658, during the 'reign' of Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard. The coat of arms has the blazon of a blue field, a silver chevron between three silver cockerels, armed, crested, and jelloped, in red. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John le Jofne. which was dated 1199, in the Curia Regis rolls of Hertfordshire. during the reign of King John, who was nicknamed 'Lackland', 1199 - 1216. 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.