Lepoidevin

This very interesting surname is of French origins. It appears to be double barrelled, a form of surnaming which is quite rare in France, and in this spelling does not seem to be recorded, unless it be as a slight tranposition from the relatively popular surnames of Lepoitevin or Poitevin. As both Le Poix or Poix and separately Devin, the name is recorded in both France and England from at least the early 17th century, in England it was a Protestant Huguenot name. Sadly many early French records are either non existent or at best erratic, as many were destroyed during the famous Revolution of 1789 - 1794. They were regarded as instruments of the state used for spying by the hated Secret Police of King Louis X1V and his descendants, and as such were amongst the earliest items to be burnt by the mobs. We believe that the meaning of the name is "Little ocean" from the Ancient Greek "pontos" through the later pre -medieval French "poins" and carried by two 3rd century saints. To this was added either the suffix diminutives "evin" meaning descendant of, or "devin", an Olde French pre 10th century word meaning "excellent" and itself used as a surname. Early examples of the surname recording may be those of Rene Lepoitevin of Angers, Ardennes, in 1605, or Jacques Le Pointe at the French church, Threadneedle street, city of London in 1606, with perhaps the later addition of Devin.