Livermore

Recorded in many forms including Libermore, Livermore, Livermere, Levermore, and no doubt others, this is an English surname. It is locational from the twin villages of Great Livermere or Small Livermere in the county of Suffolk, in England, about five miles from the ancient town of Bury St Edmunds. The place name was first recorded in the year 907 a.d., making it one of the very earliest of all recordings to survive. The surname is much later, few being recorded much before the year 1250, and then rarely were they hereditary. The name means the lake where rushes grew, from the pre 7th century Olde English 'laefor-mere'. Rushes were widely used for domestic situations, including roofing and flooring, being effectively the only form of 'carpet' known to the medieval period. Locational surnames were usually 'from' names. That is to say names given to people after they left their original villages to move somewhere else. Spelling being at best indifferent, and local accents very thick, often as with this surname, lead to the development of alternative spellings. This surname is well recorded in the diocese of Greater London and includes examples such as Mary Livermore who married Thomas Bayley at St Margarets Westminster, on January 10th 1632, and Robert Libermore, who married Elizabeth North at St James church, Dukes Place, Westminster, on September 1st 1692.