Explore the Family Name Levis

The meaning of Levis

1. English: from the Middle English personal name Levis (Old English Lēofhyse, from lēof ‘dear, beloved’ + hyse ‘youth, warrior’). 2. English: occasionally perhaps from the Middle English personal name Leve, Old English Lēofa (male) or Lēofe (female), which derive from lēof ‘dear, beloved’, with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s, since Leve is attested as a medieval surname. 3. English: perhaps also from Middle English lef, leve, plural leves, possibly representing Old English lēaf ‘leaf, foliage’ in some topographic sense, or Old English hlīf ‘shelter’. 4. English: occasionally perhaps a pronunciation of Levers or vice versa. 5. Irish: shortened form of Dunleavy. 6. Italian: patronymic from the personal name Levi. It is formed with the Latin ablative plural suffix -is imparting the sense ‘belonging to, of’, in this case ‘member of the Levi family’ (compare Levi). This surname is also found in southern France. As a French Canadian surname of Italian origin it is spelled Lévis. 7. French (Artois): from Old French vis ‘(spiral) staircase’, with fused Old Picard feminine article le; perhaps a nickname for someone whose house had such a feature. 8. Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish Ashkenazic surname such as Levy or Levinson.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.