Laval is a French surname and an alternative spelling of "Duval", which literally translates from French to English as "of the valley". It derives from the Norman "Devall", which has both English and French ties. Variant spellings include: Davolls, Deavall, DeVile, Devill, Deville, Divall, Divell and Evill. [1] Its meaning is derived from the French town of Deville, Ardennes. [1] The spelling, "Devall", was first recorded in England in the Domesday Book.
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) has largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.
English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca. It is named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name, as England. Both names derive from Anglia, a peninsula in the Baltic Sea. The language is closely related to Frisian and Low Saxon, and its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Norse, and to a greater extent by Latin and French.
The Normans are an ethnic group that arose in Normandy, a northern region of France, from contact between indigenous Franks and Gallo-Romans, and Norse Viking settlers. The settlements followed a series of raids on the French coast from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, and they gained political legitimacy when the Viking leader Rollo agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia. The distinct cultural and ethnic identity of the Normans emerged initially in the first half of the 10th century, and it continued to evolve over the succeeding centuries.
In France, variant spellings include: Lavalle, Lavallie, Lavall, Deval, Lavell, Lavelle and Lavielle. [2] The Laval surname has also been spelled some other ways including Duvall, DuVall, DeVall, Devoll, DeVol, DeValle and Devaulle.
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.
Notable people with the surname include:
- Anne Gilbert de Laval (1762–1810), French general of the Napoleonic Wars
- Billy Laval (1885–1957), American minor league baseball player, baseball manager, and college baseball, football, and basketball coach
- Erik de Laval (1888–1973), Swedish modern pentathlete
- François de Laval (1623–1708), the first bishop of Quebec City
- Georg de Laval (1883–1970), Swedish modern pentathlete, brother of Erik and Patrik
- Gustav de Laval (1845–1913), Swedish engineer
- Jacques-Désiré Laval (1803–1864), French Roman Catholic priest and missionary
- John Laval (1854–1937), French-born Catholic bishop in the United States
- Patrik de Laval (1886–1974), Swedish modern pentathlete, brother of Erik and Georg
- Pierre Laval (1883–1945), prime minister of France at various times
Anne Gilbert de Laval or Anne-Gilbert Laval or Anne Guilbert de La Val became a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and led a division in the Napoleonic Wars. Like many other officers, he saw rapid promotion during the French Revolution. He commanded a demi brigade beginning in 1794. He fought in numerous actions during the 1796 campaign in Germany, including the battles of Ettlingen and Neresheim.
William L. Laval was an American minor league baseball player, baseball manager, and college baseball, football, and basketball coach. He held head coaching positions at the University of South Carolina, Furman University, Emory and Henry College, and Newberry College. He is the only South Carolina football coach to have produced seven consecutive winning seasons. In 2009, The State called him "the greatest collegiate coach" in the history of South Carolina.
Erik Patrik Honoré de Laval was a Swedish modern pentathlete who won a silver medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
