Show ContentsL'eveque History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of L'eveque

What does the name L'eveque mean?

The name L'eveque belongs to the early history of France, in the much fought over region of Normandy. It is a product of the family's residency in Normandy.

Early Origins of the L'eveque family

The surname L'eveque was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy. One of the first records of the family was Ralph and John Leveske, who were listed there from 1180-98 according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 1

The root name, Eveske, means "bishop." Interestingly, while few of the family migrated to England after the Norman Conquest, Henry Eveske was listed as living there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273.

Robert Levesque, born in 1645, son of Pierre Levesque and Marie Gaumont, was a carpenter that arrived in New France (Quebec) from Normandy. He married Jeanne Le Chevalier in Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 22 April 1679 and together they had six children, three of which were sons that carried on the name Levesque. Robert was buried in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 3 September 1699. 2

Early History of the L'eveque family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our L'eveque research. Another 192 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1634, 1675, 1792, 1807, 1809 and 1815 are included under the topic Early L'eveque History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

L'eveque Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name L'eveque, including Levesque, Lévesque, Levecke, Levek, Leveque, Lévèque, Lavesque, Levèque, Levesques, Levecque, Levecques, Lavecque, Levècque, Lévèque, Levéque and many more.

Early Notables of the L'eveque family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early L'eveque Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

L'eveque Ranking

In France, the name L'eveque is the 168th most popular surname with an estimated 19,683 people with that name. 3


L'eveque migration to the United States +

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name L'eveque has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name L'eveque were

L'eveque Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jacques Leveque, who settled in Louisiana in 1756

Contemporary Notables of the name L'eveque (post 1700) +

  • William J. LeVeque (1923-2007), American mathematician and administrator who worked primarily in number theory
  • Randall J. LeVeque, American Professor of Applied Mathematics at University of Washington
  • John Leveque (b. 1944), American four-time Academy Award nominated sound editor, known for The Fugitive (1993), L.A. Confidential (1997) and Under Siege (1992)
  • Dorian Lévêque (b. 1989), French footballer who most recently played as a defender for Ligue 2 club Le Mans
  • Pierre Lévêque (1921-2004), French hellenist and historian
  • Roger Lévêque (1920-2002), French professional road racing cyclist who was active from 1946 to 1953
  • Marie Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin (1902-1969), French novelist, poet and journalist
  • Christophe Lévêque (b. 1973), French professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer
  • André Marcel Lévêque (1896-1930), French engineer from Beauvais, France, best known for his work on heat transfer
  • Major-General Albert-Gustave Leveque (1881-1953), 4
  • ... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  3. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  4. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) Albert-Gustave Leveque. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Leveque/Albert-Gustave/France.html


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