LaVallee
A French surname meaning “the valley,” usually referring to someone who lived in or came from a valley.
The #6,793 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,184 Americans shares it.
Etymology
La Vallée is a French topographic name built from la, “the,” and vallée, “valley.” It would originally have identified someone who lived in or near a valley, or who came from a place so named. The spelling Lavallee is a later surname form reflecting the same French phrase, often simplified when families moved into English-speaking areas.
History
The name is especially associated with French-speaking regions and later with French Canadian families. As with many French surnames, it could appear in records with or without the space and accent, and English-language records often flattened the spelling into Lavallee or LaVallee. The surname is fairly uncommon in the United States, but it is recognizable in communities with French ancestry.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the base word is just the ordinary French word for “valley,” the surname can be translated almost literally as “of the valley.”