Cave
A mostly locational surname, taken from people who lived in or came from a place called Cave—especially North and South Cave in Yorkshire.
The #4,228 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,804 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a habitational name from the Yorkshire places North Cave and South Cave. Those place-names are generally taken to be very old, with the first element referring to a cave or hollow and the second to Old English "denu," meaning "valley," in some local interpretations. In surname use, "de Cave" simply meant "of Cave" or "from Cave."
History
The historical excerpts connect early bearers of the name with Yorkshire soon after the Norman Conquest, and later with families settled elsewhere in England. Bardsley and Lower both treat it as a local surname, tied to residence at or near the Yorkshire places called Cave. The name remained relatively uncommon but established in England and later appears in the United States as well.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The town names North Cave and South Cave are part of the surname’s story, not a reference to a family who literally lived underground.
From the historical record
“Camd. Fr. cJicval, from Lat. cabaUus. CAVE. Two parishes in Yorkshire, called North and South Cave, were the residence of the ancestors of the Caves now of Stretton, co. Derby, soon after the Con- quest. Shirley. CAVELL. CAVILL. Cavill, a township in Yorkshire. CAVENDISH. Roger de Gernon, a cadet of the great…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom