Le Teve is a shortened variant form of the French Provencal and Italian (Genovese) locational name Le Tevere. The local name for Italy's longest and best known river "the Tiber" - a word which means "Water or Lake". It is accepted that the name holders as Le Teve were not recorded in England before the 1860's but under the original and other alternative spellings it would seem to be Huguenot emigre into England, as shown, later versions being Le Tew or Latue recorded in 1735 and Letue recorded in Laida 1809 when Anne Letue married James Tennant. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Peter Leteur. which was dated 1682, St. Martins in the Field, London. during the reign of King Charles II, The Merry Monarch 1660 - 1685. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was 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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