Revere History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Revere

What does the name Revere mean?

Revere is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Revere family lived in Revieres, near Creuilli, in the arrondissement of Caen, Normandy. This is one of the names given by Wace in his account of the battle of Hastings, "He who was then Sire de Reviers brought with him many knights who were foremost in the assault, bearing the enemy down with their war-horses." 1

Early Origins of the Revere family

The surname Revere was first found in Devon where the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Baldwin de Reviers (Revere) who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. Soon after the conquest Baldwin and William (Quillaume) de Reviers, sons of Richard of Montebourg in Calvados received Plympton and Tiverton in Devon, the Isle of Wight, became Earl of Devon to which Baldwin succeeded in 1107.

"There was a genuine and undoubted Richard de Reviers, who with William de Reviers (perhaps his brother) is to be found on the Dives Roll, and held a barony in Dorset in 1086. 2 He is presumed to have been the son of a William de Reviers who held land at Montebourg in Normandy a conjecture the more probable, as he, with the King's consent, founded an Abbey at Montebourg in 1088, and endowed it, among other grants, with one of his Dorset manors." 1

"A castle was erected in Tiverton in 1106 by Rivers, Earl of Devon, which continued for many ages the head of a barony, and, with the lordship of the hundred and the manor." 3 "In the reign of Henry I. the manor [of Tiverton] passed to the family of Redvers, and Richard de Redvers, about the year 1106, built the castle, which continued one of the principal seats of that powerful family for several generations. At the death of Baldwin de Redvers in 1245, his widow, Amicia, claimed the manor and lordship of Tiverton as part of her dower. The last of the family of Redvers that held the manor was Isabella's daughter Avelina, who married Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, second son of Henry III." 4

"In the reign of Henry I. we find Honiton [Devon] in the Redvers family, and in that line it continued mainly until it came to the Courtenays. " 4

Baldwin de Redvers, the 1st Earl of Devon (died 1155), was a feudal Baron of Plympton in Devon. His father was Richard de Redvers (or Reviers, Rivers, or Latinised to de Ripariis) (fl. c. 1066 - 1107) was a Norman from Reviers in Normandy. He rose to become the 1st feudal baron of Plympton. He may have been one of the companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest but he does appear on the Role of Battle Abbey. Guillaume held a barony in Dorset and he more properly sired the Redvers.

Descending from this great Norman family name were the Redvers, the Reivers, the Courtnays, the Prouz, the Chudleighs, the Fortibus, and the Vernons. 5

Early History of the Revere family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Revere research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1255 is included under the topic Early Revere History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Revere Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Redvers, Redverse, Radvers, Reviers, Reivers, Revere and many more.

Early Notables of the Revere family

More information is included under the topic Early Revere Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Revere migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Revere or a variant listed above:

Revere Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Apollos Revere, who settled in Boston in 1715
Apollos Revere, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1715 6
Laurens Revere, who settled in Charles Town, SC sometime between 1767 and 1768
Geo. Revere, who arrived in America in 1773
Geo Revere, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1773

Revere Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Revere, who arrived in Alabama in 1858
John Revere, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1858 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Revere (post 1700) +

Lawrence Revere, U.S. author and professional gambler
Joseph W. Revere (1812-1880), Union general in the American Civil War
Anne Revere (1903-1990), Tony award winning actress, direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere
Paul Revere (1735-1818), American patriot and silversmith
Paul Revere Dick (1938-2014), American musician, lead vocalist of Paul Revere and the Raiders
Paul Revere Baird (b. 1889), American Republican politician, Mayor of Waterville, Maine, 1925 7

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html