Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is an English surname which owes something to pre 7th century Norse-Viking, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman French origins. Firstly, it may be derived from the Norman personal name "Ivo", from the word ifar meaning a long bow made from the supple wood of the yew tree. This was a popular name in Normandy and Brittany, and was introduced into England at the time of the Conquest of 1066, perhaps reinforcing the Olde English pre 7th Century names of Ifa or Iva which mean the same. The second origin is locational from a place called Ivoy in Normandy. Thisis a development of "ivoie", which again relates to the yew tree and hence the long bow. The modern surname can be found recorded as Avey, Avie, Ivey, Ivy and Ivie, and is said to be very popular in Cornwall. Here recordings include the christening of James Ivey, on March 28th 1617 at Perranzabuloe. A coat of arms associated with the surname has the blazon of a red shield charged with a gold lion rampant, the crest being a gold demi lion rampant, supporting a staff raguly green. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey de Iuoi.This was dated 1161 in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire, during the reign of King Henry 11nd, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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