Lovett
An English surname that may come from a Norman personal name or from a place-name connected with Elmley Lovett.
The #1,842 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,857 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Lovett is usually explained as deriving from a medieval personal name such as Luvet, Lofe, or a related Norman form, ultimately from Old French nickname forms built on Latin or Germanic roots. Some writers also connected it with local names, especially Elmley Lovett in Worcestershire, but the surname itself is more often treated as a hereditary family name brought to England after the Norman Conquest. The core sense is not fully certain, and early spellings vary a lot.
History
Historical notes in older surname books link the Lovetts to a Norman family said to have come to England at the Conquest and later established in several counties. The name appears in medieval records in forms such as Lovet and Luvet, and later became the modern Lovett. The surname also persisted in gentry families, including the Lovetts of Liscombe in Buckinghamshire, which helped keep the name visible in later centuries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Elmley Lovett in Worcestershire is one of the place-names that has helped keep the surname in the historical record, even though the surname’s exact origin is debated.
From the historical record
“a pansh near Wakefield. There ■re also two parishes id co. Wor- cester, viz. Elmley Lovett and Elmley Castle. rcter ae CJnieieie, r.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances