Levy (surname)

Levy
Pronunciation	/ˈliːvi, ˈlɛvi/
Origin
Language(s)	Hebrew
Meaning	joining
Other names
Variant form(s)	Levi, Lévi, Lévy; Lewy, Lewi, Lewj (languages: Polish, German, etc.); Weil, Veil, etc. (in anagram form)

Levy or Lévy is a surname generally of Hebrew origin. It is a transliteration of the Hebrew לוי meaning "joining". Another spelling of the surname—among multiple other spellings—is Levi or Lévi.

The surname usually refers to a family claiming Levite descent (from the Israelite tribe of Levi), which implies a specific social status in the structure of a traditional Jewish community. A priest, which is Kohen in Hebrew, is from a subset of the Levite tribe, descended from the first high priest Aaron, the brother of Moses.

Levy can also be—though it is very rarely—a surname of French, Scottish, and Welsh origin. Variant spellings of the Scottish surname Levy are Levey, Leevy and Leavy.^[1]^[2]

^ Rev. Patrick Woulfe, Priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Member of the Council, National Academy of Ireland, Irish Names and Surnames, © 1967 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, in Irish and English, pp. 355–356
^ Edward MacLysaght, Irish Families – Their Names, Arms and Origins, © 1972 Allen Figgis and Co. Ltd., in U.S.A., New York, Crown Publishers, Inc., p. 118, "MacDONLEVY, Dunleavy, Leavy ... Mac Duinnshléibhe ... In modern times it has many synonyms : besides spelling variants such as Donlevy, there is McAleevy (due to the aspiration of the D), Leevy (by abbreviation) and MacNulty, or in Irish, Mac an Ultaigh, i.e. son of the Ulidian (Ultach)."

[1] Rev. Patrick Woulfe, Priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Member of the Council, National Academy of Ireland, Irish Names and Surnames, © 1967 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, in Irish and English, pp. 355–356

[2] Edward MacLysaght, Irish Families – Their Names, Arms and Origins, © 1972 Allen Figgis and Co. Ltd., in U.S.A., New York, Crown Publishers, Inc., p. 118, "MacDONLEVY, Dunleavy, Leavy ... Mac Duinnshléibhe ... In modern times it has many synonyms : besides spelling variants such as Donlevy, there is McAleevy (due to the aspiration of the D), Leevy (by abbreviation) and MacNulty, or in Irish, Mac an Ultaigh, i.e. son of the Ulidian (Ultach)."

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