This French surname is of three origins. It was an occupational name for someone employed in or in charge of the wine cellars of a great house, derived from the Old French word CAVE (cellar), and rendered in medieval documents in the Latin form CAVEA. It was also a topographic name for someone who lived in a cave. The name is also spelt KAVE, LACAVIER, CAVIER, CAVA, CAVEL and CAVY, to name but a few. Sir Alexander de CAVE (born 1262) was among the knights summoned to serve against the Scots in 1296-7. In 1311 he became keeper of the Templars' lands in York. The name has had many subsequent distinguished bearers. Other early records of the name mention Willelmus del Cave, listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Philip Cave married Sarah Martin at St. Michael, Cornhill, London in the year 1654. Baptised. John Cave at St. Dionis Backchurch, London in 1692. As early as the year 1100, it was quite common for English people to give French names to their children, and the earliest instances are found among the upper classes, both the clergy and the patrician families. The Norman-French names used were generally the names most commonly used by the Normans, who had introduced them into England during the Norman Invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. 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. |
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