Surname Havel - Meaning and Origin
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Havel: What does the surname Havel mean?
The surname Havel is of Slavic origin and has multiple potential meanings, depending on which language’s spelling of the name is being used.
One meaning of the name in some languages is that it refers to someone who lived in a location close to the headwaters or springs of a river. In Czech, Havel is spelled Havl and could be interpreted as meaning “champion” or “protector”. This same spelling is also found in other Slavic languages, though its meaning can vary slightly.
Havel is also a common surname in Germany, where it is spelled Habel and can be translated as “bush” or “small tree”. The name is one of the more popular last names in Germany, with an estimated 0.0064 percent of the population bearing the name.
Havel is also found in other countries around the world. In France, the spelling is HAVEL and it carries the meaning of “belonging to a certain farmstead”. In Sweden, the spelling is HAVEL and it is a topographical name referring to someone who lived by a hill, mound or knoll.
Ultimately, the exact meaning of the surname Havel depends on the language in which it is spelled. No matter the origin of the name, however, it is a popular surname around the world.
Order DNA origin analysisHavel: Where does the name Havel come from?
The last name Havel is most commonly found in countries with a significant population of ethnic Czechs, particularly the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany. There are over 46,000 people in the Czech Republic alone who carry this last name. The name is also common in Slovakia, Belgium, Canada, the United States, and some other countries around the world.
The origin of the Havel last name is from the Czech region of Bohemia. The name is derived from a place name, where a number of different settlements and valleys have been found bearing the same name. It is theorized that many of the bearers of the Havel surname descended from a single noble family which had multiple offspring in the Middle Ages, and this was how the name spread throughout the region.
Even today, the Havel surname remains fairly prominent within the Czech Republic. In fact, according to the Czech census of 2011, one in every 654 Czech citizens is a bearer of the Havel name. Since the fall of Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s, a number of Czech citizens with this last name have emigrated to other countries as well, particularly the United States, Canada, and Germany, which accounts for the widespread distribution of the Havel name around the globe today.
Variations of the surname Havel
The surname Havel is derived from multiple origins and carries a variety of different spellings, variants, and surnames. Havel can be traced back to some Germanic origin names, such as 'Haduwolf,' 'Haduwulf,' or 'Hadufrid,' all of which mean 'glory or brilliance in battle.' The surname may also have originated from the Germanic personal name Hado or Hadu, which was sometimes Latinized as Hadulf or Haudolf.
The most common variant of the surname Havel is the spelling Hävel. Other common variant spellings include Haevel, Haebel, Häbel, Haeebbeel, Haübel, Haeffel, and Haufel. Less common variants include; Haffel, Haeble, Hövel, Hovel, Hevel, and Haon.
The surname Havel can also be found in other countries in various forms. In some Spanish-speaking countries, the surname is sometimes anglicized to Habal or Habel. In Dutch, it is often spelled as Haefel or Havelaar, and in Czech or Slovak as Havlíček or Havlík. Other variants found in Europe include Havlovič and Havlas.
In the United States, the surname has become more commonly Americanized to the spelling Havlick. Surnames that carry the same origin as Havel include; Hovell, Hovells, Havlik, Holub, and Havlin.
Overall, the surname Havel is a part of an on-going, complex connection of many different spellings and surname variations which have been derived from multiple origins.
Famous people with the name Havel
- Václav Havel: former leader of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic (193-2011).
- Dagmar Havlova: wife of Václav Havel and First Lady of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic.
- Daniel Havel: Czech physician, poet and former dissident.
- Olga Havlova: Czech writer.
- Ivan Havel: Czech film director and screenwriter, brother of Václav Havel.
- Michael Havel: Czech actor.
- Bohumil Havel: Czech landscape painter.
- Marie Kudeříková Havel: Czech painter.
- Jan Havel: Czech cinematographer.
- Zdenek Havel: Czech actor and theatre director.
- Ladislav Havel: Czech film director.
- Milena Havel: Czech actress.
- Charles Havel: British composer and organist.
- James Havel: American playwright, actor and director.
- Jiri Havel: Czech ice hockey player.
- Karel Havel: Czech sculptor.
- Robert Havel: Czech architect.
- Viktor Havel: Czech mycologist and botanist.
- Richard Havel: American judge.
- Libor Havel: Czech hockey player.