Lavine
A surname that is often a variant spelling of Levine, usually tied to the Hebrew name Levi.
The #9,932 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,057 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lavine is most likely an Anglicized spelling variant of Levine, a surname built on the Hebrew personal name Levi. In that tradition, the name Levi is commonly understood as meaning "joined" or "attached." In English records, spelling could shift freely, so Lavine may also reflect a phonetic or clerical variant rather than a separate origin.
History
The form Lavine appears in English-language records as one of several spellings around Levine and related names. Because it is comparatively uncommon, many bearers in the modern United States likely come from families whose surname was standardized only recently. The spelling may also occasionally overlap with unrelated French-looking names, so individual family histories can differ.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because English surnames were often recorded by ear, a single family line could end up with several spellings of the same name across generations.
From the historical record
“mentioned by Thomas of Walsingham, A.D. 1344. Hence PiCKEiUNO and Pu KicRsaJLL as local names, /V/, a meadow, and *////. a lavine, I am not sure that Pinckard, Pinker, and the local PiNKERTON, are not a euphonic corrup- tion of the snme. Lamhkht, La.mparix L.UIPORT are not,”
— English Surnames, and their place in the Teutonic family