Neve Family History

English, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish: from Middle English, Old Norse, Middle Dutch neve ‘nephew’, presumably denoting the nephew of some great personage. French (Nève): Lyonnais habitational name from the Rhône place name En Nève, which derives from misdivision of En ève ‘in water’ (modern standard French en eau). Italian: from the personal name Neve, which may be from neve ‘snow’ (Latin nix, genitive nivis), possibly denoting a white-haired or very pale-complexioned person, or, according to Caracausi, may be a variant of the personal name Neves, from the Marian epithet Madonna della Neve or Maria Santissima ad nives ‘Mary of the Snows’. Portuguese and Galician: from neve ‘snow’. Compare 3.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press