Where did the surname Harvey come from?

Question

Where did the surname Harvey come from?

Answer 1

Harvey Name Meaning and History

English and Scottish: from the Breton personal name Aeruiu or Haerviu, composed of the elements haer ‘battle’, ‘carnage’ + vy ‘worthy’, which was brought to England by Breton followers of William the Conqueror, for the most part in the Gallicized form Hervé. (The change from -er- to -ar- was a normal development in Middle English and Old French.) Reaney believes that the surname is also occasionally from a Norman personal name, Old German Herewig, composed of the Germanic elements hari, heri ‘army’ + wig ‘war’.

Irish: mainly of English origin, in Ulster and County Wexford, but sometimes a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAirmheadhaigh ‘descendant of Airmheadhach’, a personal name probably meaning ‘esteemed’. It seems to be a derivative of Airmheadh, the name borne by a mythological physician.

Irish (County Fermanagh): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hEarchaidh ‘descendant of Earchadh’, a personal name of uncertain origin.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

Answer 2

Harvey and its variants Hervey , Hervie and Harvie was originally a Breton name brought from France to Britain by the Normans  after 1066 . It is relatively common in Scotland and has appeared in old records dating as far back as the 14th century often in its Latin form Herueus , Herveius and Herveus .

Geographically spread throughout the country as far apart as Kelso in the Borders and Aberdeen in the North . John Harvy of the Diocese of Aberdeen appears in records of the Scots College in Paris in 1479 .

Found to a lesser exten in Ireland and parts of England  

Answer 3

English and Scottish:  which is one of the earliest on record, is of English and Irish origin. It is also well recorded in Scotland, although the origin is as for England. The name has two possible sources, the first being from the Breton personal name "Aeruiu" or "Haerviu", composed of the elements "haer", meaning battle, and "vy", - worthy. The 1086 Domesday has various references to followers of William the Conqueror, including Herueu de Berruarius of Suffolk, and later Heuei de Castre of Lincoln, in 1157. These were not surnames, although in fact the first surname recording as shown below was only just behind. The second source is Irish, although in fact most nameholders in Ireland do descend from English settlers, it is said that a Galway clan called originally the O'hAirmheadhaigh, did 'anglicise' their name to Harvey or Harvie. The Gaelic translates as 'the descendant of the son of Airmed'. The surname is generally recorded as Harvey, Harvie, Hervie and Hervey, and early recordings include William Hervy of Essex in 1232, Warin Harvi in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridge for the year 1273, and John Hervy, burgess of Aberdeen in 1398. The roll of famous namebearers includes William Harvey (1578 - 1657), who discovered the circulation of the blood in 1616, whilst Edmond Harvey, a Parliamentarian Colonel, was one of the fifty three regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles 1st in January 1649. Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey was one of the 1798 leaders of the Irish rebellion, whilst curiously Robert Hervie of Scotland was a member of the Huntly Volunteer force, raised to combat a possible French-Irish invasion. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Hervi, which was dated 1190, in the 'Calendar of Abbot Samson of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk', during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199.

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Answer 4

I found this for you.

Surname: Harvey

This ancient surname, which is one of the earliest on record, is of English and Irish origin. It is also well recorded in Scotland, although the origin is as for England. The name has two possible sources, the first being from the Breton personal name "Aeruiu" or "Haerviu", composed of the elements "haer", meaning battle, and "vy", - worthy. The 1086 Domesday has various references to followers of William the Conqueror, including Herueu de Berruarius of Suffolk, and later Heuei de Castre of Lincoln, in 1157. These were not surnames, although in fact the first surname recording as shown below was only just behind. The second source is Irish, although in fact most nameholders in Ireland do descend from English settlers, it is said that a Galway clan called originally the O'hAirmheadhaigh, did 'anglicise' their name to Harvey or Harvie. The Gaelic translates as 'the descendant of the son of Airmed'. The surname is generally recorded as Harvey, Harvie, Hervie and Hervey, and early recordings include William Hervy of Essex in 1232, Warin Harvi in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridge for the year 1273, and John Hervy, burgess of Aberdeen in 1398. The roll of famous namebearers includes William Harvey (1578 - 1657), who discovered the circulation of the blood in 1616, whilst Edmond Harvey, a Parliamentarian Colonel, was one of the fifty three regicides who signed the death warrant of Charles 1st in January 1649. Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey was one of the 1798 leaders of the Irish rebellion, whilst curiously Robert Hervie of Scotland was a member of the Huntly Volunteer force, raised to combat a possible French-Irish invasion. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Hervi, which was dated 1190, in the 'Calendar of Abbot Samson of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk', during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199.

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