Neville

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A masculine personal name of Norman French origin, traditionally used in English-speaking countries
2. A male given name derived from Old French meaning 'new settlement' or 'new town'
3. A masculine forename common in English-speaking cultures, particularly associated with British heritage

Etymology: The surname Neville reached England with the Normans, carried by a baronial family whose name came from a place in Normandy. That place name, "Néville" or "Neuville," has two possible readings in Old French. One is "Néel's estate," built on a personal name, and the other is "new settlement," built from "nuef" (new) and "ville" (town). Scholars have debated which sense applies, so the family name may have started as either a man's property or a freshly founded village. The family spread across England and became one of the most powerful dynasties of the medieval north, and the surname traveled with them. Neville is also an Irish surname, but there it has a different origin entirely: it comes from Gaelic names such as "Ó Niadh" and "Ó Cnaimhín," so two unrelated roots have ended up in the same spelling.