The associated coat of arms for this name are recorded in J.B Rietstaps Armorial General. Illustrated by V & H.V Rolland's. This Monumental work took 23 years to complete and 85,000 coats of Arms are included in this work. This surname of ACQUAVIVA was a French name meaning 'water of life' perhaps a name applied as a nickname to a man with quality of life. One of the most notable members of this name was Claudius ACQUAVIVA (1543-1615) the Neapolitan general of the Jesuits from 1581, and one of their most able organizers and educators. A Jesuit was a member of the Society of Jesus, an order of priests founded in 1534, in Paris by Ignatius Loyola, Francis Zavier, and others to defend the Roman Catholic Church and propagate its faith; it is strictly organized and governed by a 'General' responsible only to the Pope. Its members, learned and rigorously trained, are bound to poverty, chastity and obedience with duties of preaching, educating and hearing confession. In South America the Jesuits were suppressed in 1773 and restored again in 1814. French, or rather Norman French, was the language of the aristocracy and the upper classes in England at the time fixed surnames were being developed, it is therefore not surprising that many of our well-known family names are derived from French words. Originally only Christian or personal names were used, and although a few came into being during the 10th century, surnames were not widely used until much later, when people began to realize the prestige of having a second name. America was colonized by peoples from all over the world in a very short period of time, and mostly, in the case of French immigrants they have stayed together in Louisiana. Of the early immigrants to America the French have fared the worst in respect of their names, chiefly because of the difficulties experienced by the Americans in pronouncing them correctly. Many have been translated into English names. The lion depicted in the arms is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour. |
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