personal name meaning 'fond of movement or travel'. The French meaning of the name comes from the common French place name Laval, from Old French val 'valley'. This is also a Huguenot name (with the same etymology), taken to England by Etienne-Abel Laval, a minister of the French church in Castle Street, London, around 1730.French: habitational name from Lavelle in Puy-de-Dôme or various other, smaller places so named Variations Variations include Lawell, Melville, Mulville and MacFaul, though these are generally reckoned as separate, unrelated surnames. Lavelle is found in France and Belgium as a surname but, being derived from a placename, has a different and unrelated origin to the Irish surname. Examples include Velle-le-Châtel Velles, Haute-Marne Velles, Indre French people bearing the surname include: Louis Lavelle, philosopher, 1883–1951. In Spain, it is derived from placenames such as La Vellés. Other forms As LaVelle, La Velle, and LaVella, it is found as a forename in the USA. Bearers of the name Notable Lavelles include: Patrick Lavelle, priest and Irish nationalist, 1825–1886 John Daniel Lavelle, United States Air Force general, 1916–1979 John W. Lavelle, Democratic Party representative in New York, 1949–2007 Caroline Lavelle, British singer-songwriter and cellist, born 1969 James Lavelle, DJ, electronic recording artist and record label boss, born 1974 Peter Lavelle, writer and RT broadcaster, born 1961 Rose Lavelle, professional soccer player for United States women's national soccer team and Washington Spirit, born 1995 Gary Lavelle, professional baseball pitcher for San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland A's born January 3, 1949 See also Irish name Maigh Seóla Connacht References Iar Connacht, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh, 1684 (ed. James Hardiman, published 1846). The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978. More Irish Families, p. 143–144, Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1996. External links http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID= Surnames of Irish origin Irish-language surnames