This unusual and interesting name is a dialectual variant of the locational name Colleville from place so called in Normandy. The derivation is from the Scandinavian personal name Koli and the Olde French 'ville', meaning a settlement or village. A family of this name trace their descent from Philip de Colville, who in the 12th Century held lands in Roxburghs. The name is also thought to be Scottish with a first early recording of one Philip de Coleuille who witnessed Malcolm IV's confirmation of donations to Dunfermline monastery. In St. George in East London one Ann Covil, an infant daughter of George and Sarah Covil was christened in 1775. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Colevil(e), which was dated 1086, Domesday Book, Yorkshire, during the reign of King William I, The Conqueror, 1066 - 1087. 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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