Lovie

This unusual and interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and has a number of possible origins. The first and most likely source is the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name 'Leofwig', composed of the elements 'leof', dear, beloved, and 'wig', war, warrior, which has also generated the names 'Leavey', 'Levey' and 'lewey'. One Geoffrey Leuwy was recorded in the Essex Parliamentary Rolls for 1301, whose name derives from 'Leofwig'. The surname 'Lovie' or 'Lovey' can also be a pet form of 'Love', which derives from a medieval English given name from the Olde English female personal name 'Lufu', 'Love', or the masculine equivalent 'Lufa'. Finally the modern surname may derive from an English and Scottish nickname, from the Anglo-Norman French word 'louve', female wolf, which was often used in a complimentary sense for a brave, fierce soldier. One William Lovie married Margaret Bridger in September 1594 in Surrey, and George Lovie was christened on the 8th June 1669 at Old Machar, Aberdeen. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Leui, which was dated 1228, The Eynsham Cartulary, during the reign of King Henry III, '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.