Family name origins & meanings
- French (Larivière) : habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Rivière, from the plural form of Old French rivière ‘river’ (originally meaning ‘riverbank’, from Latin riparia, a derivative of ripa ‘bank’), with the definite article la; also a topographic name from the same word. This is a frequent secondary surname in Canada, used to distinguish a branch of a particular family living near a river, as opposed to those living on higher ground (Lamont) or on a hill (Descoteaux); it has also been used independently since 1749.