Recorded as Saville, Savill, Sivil and Sivell, this is an English surname. However its ultimate origin is locational and Norman-French from either of the places called Sauville or Sainville in the departement of Euro-et-Loire. The latter of these placenames is so called from the old French pre 10th century word 'saisne', meaning 'Saxon', as in the Germanic tribe, and 'ville', meaning settlement. The Savilles have held lands in the county of Yorkshire since the time of Henry III (1216 - 1272), and Lord Saville was a strong supporter of Parliament during the the two civil wars which stretched from 1642 to 1660. Examples of the surname development and recordings taken from surviving registers of the diocese of Greater London include such examples as Alice Savell who married John Wyar at St. Botolphs Bishopgate, in 1570, Ann Sivill who was christened at St. Giles Cripplegate, in 1671, whilst John Sivell was a witness also at St. Giles on December 9th 1723. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Sayvill. This was dated 1246, in the Fines Court register of Yorkshire. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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