Levison

Recorded as Levison, Leverson, Leveson and possibly others, this is a surname of English and sometimes Scottish origins. It derives from the pre 7th century personal name "Leofsunu" meaning beloved son. The personal name appears as Leofsuna or Lefsune in the famous Domesday Book of England in 1086, and as Leuesune in the Transcripts of Charters relating to the Gilbertine Houses, Lincolnshire in 1099. In some instances the surname may be a patronymic of the Hebrew given name "Levi" meaning joining. The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below), and early recordings include: Richard Levesone (1255) in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, Adam Leverson (1275) in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, and Richard Livesone (1279) in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire. London church registers include the christenings of Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Leverson, on May 16th 1563 at St. Andrew Undershaft, and of Robert, son of William Levison, on February 20th 1569 at St. Dunstan in the East. A coat of arms granted to the family is blue, three gold holly leaves. The Crest is an ermine goat's head erased, gold attired. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo Lovesone, which was dated 1230, in the "Calendar of the Patent Rolls", Northumberland, 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.