Lavelle — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Maolfhábhail
Meaning: 'devotee of movement or travel'
Traditional stronghold: Mayo
Pronunciation: la-VELL; Irish Ó Maolfhábhail: oh mwayl-AW-il
History of the Lavelle name
Ó Maolfhábhail is usually interpreted as fond of travel or movement, from fábhal. The sept arose among the Uí Fiachrach of north Connacht, and the name has always been strongly associated with County Mayo, above all with Achill Island and the Erris and Murrisk districts of the western seaboard, spreading also into Galway and Donegal. In some areas the Irish name was anglicised by mistranslation as Melville. The best-known historical bearer is Fr Patrick Lavelle, the fiery patriot priest of Partry, who championed his Mayo parishioners against evicting landlords and proselytism in the 1860s and defied his own bishops in the Fenian cause.
Variants: Lavell · Melville
Famous bearers of the name
- Patrick Lavelle — Radical nineteenth-century Mayo priest and land agitator, the patriot priest of Partry.
- Rose Lavelle — United States World Cup winning soccer star of Irish descent.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Walsh · Burke · Moran · Higgins · Conway · Costello · Jennings · Browne