This is a name of French Huguenot origins from the Champagne Region of France and first recorded in England as Lavies and Laviste, although the French surname itself is of Germanic origins. Like Lewis, Louis and Levis, the finite source was the pre 7th Century personal compound name Ludo-vicus or Hlud-wig, which "gallic" dialect shortened to the medieval christian and surnames as we know them today. The sample recordings include Alice Lavis of Stepney (1662), Will Lavies of London (1665) and John Lavies of Dulwich (1799) and the unusual Edward Hobson Vitruoius Lavies a witness at St. Andrew's Church, Holborn on June 13th, 1859. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Susanne Laviste, which was dated June 14th 1629, christened at Castle Street French Huguenot Church, London, during the reign of King Charles 1, known as "The Martyr", 1625 - 1649. 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.