Lovell

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, borne by people such as the American astronaut Jim Lovell
2. A surname of English origin, also used as a given name, associated with several notable figures
3. An English family name carried by various people, including the astronaut James Lovell of Apollo 13

Etymology: Lovell began as a nickname before it was ever a surname. It comes from Anglo-Norman "lou", meaning "wolf", with the diminutive suffix "-el" attached, so the name amounted to something like "little wolf". Medieval nicknames often described a person's appearance, temperament or habits, and a wolf-like name could suggest a fierce, predatory or wily character, though the source does not say which quality was intended. As people began to need fixed family names, nicknames like this hardened into hereditary surnames passed from father to son. The name's Anglo-Norman origin points to the period after the Norman Conquest, when French was the language of the English ruling class and shaped many personal names. The same root "lou" also gave English the word "louvre" through a different path, a shared ancestry that is easy to miss when the name now appears only on people, not animals.