Larver

This interesting and unusual surname, with variant spellings Larver, Laurvere and Lorver, recorded in English church registers from the early 17th Century is a dialectal variant of the Anglo-Norman French occupational name "Laver", washerman. The term was applied especially to a worker in the wool industry employed to wash raw wool, or rince the cloth after fulling. In the south of France "laver" was a nickname for a rich man, deriving from the Old Provencal "aver", possessions, property, which became "laver" when fused with the definite article "le". On June 13th 1555, Robert Laver, an infant, was christened in St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, London, and on August 1st 1626, Edward Larver and Sussen Cooke were married in St. Andrews, Holborn. The christening of one, William Lorver took place in Claydon, Oxfordshire, on April 22nd 1823, and on December 1st 1846, Elizabeth Ann, daughter of John and Mary Laurvere, was christened in St. Anne Soho, Westminster, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mary Larver, (marriage to Richard Corck), which was dated October 14th 1621, St. Dunstan's, Stepney, London, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.