Lovely

Family name origins & meanings

• English : nickname for an amiable person, also perhaps sometimes given in an ironical sense, from Middle English luvelich, loveli (Old English luflic). During the main period of surname formation the word was used in an active sense, ‘loving’, ‘kind’, ‘affectionate’, as well as the passive ‘lovable’, ‘worthy of love’. The meaning ‘attractive’, ‘beautiful’ is not clearly attested before the 14th century, and remained rare throughout the Middle Ages.
• New England Americanized form of French Lavallée (see Lavallee) or a similar name.