This is an interesting name of French origin which is a dialectal variant of the nickname surname Vaisey, and would be given to a cheerful person. It is derived from the Old French pre 7th Century "envoisier", to enjoy oneself, the Latin"vitium", pleasure, and the Anglo Norman French, "enveisie", playful, merry. In the modern idiom, the variants are many and include Vaisey, Vasey, Veasy, Veysey, Vezey, Voisey, Feasey, Feesey, Pha(i)sey, Pheazey, and Lenfestey. Amongst the recorded examples in London are, one, Augustine Veasey, who was christened on July 11th 1678 at St. Giles, Cripplegate and one Benjamin Veasey, also christened at St. Dunstan, Stepney on November 21st 1686. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas le Envaiset, which was dated circa 1150, Chartulary of the Abbey of Rievaulx, Yorkshire, during the reign of King Stephen, "Count of Blois", 1135 - 1154. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024