What does the surname Harvey mean?
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Breton Herve, Breton-Norman infantry left the name along the south coast. Breton knights followed William and later planted Hervé names in Dorset apple country.
Where does the Harvey family come from?
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The Harvey family is rooted in South West and East of England, in England. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset & Bristol and Dorset & Wiltshire. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.
Where did the Harvey family historically hold territory?
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At its greatest historical extent, the Harvey name has been concentrated in Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight and Berkshire & Oxfordshire. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.
Is Harvey a England surname?
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Yes, Harvey is a England surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is England, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.
How old is the Harvey surname?
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Breton knights followed William and later planted Hervé names in Dorset apple country. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Harvey name took its modern form within that long settlement.
What is the Harvey family known for?
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Breton battle-name, English orchard now. Breton knights followed William and later planted Hervé names in Dorset apple country.
Who is the most famous Harvey?
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The best-known bearer of the Harvey name is William Harvey (1578–1657), discoverer of the circulation of the blood. Their life and connection to the family are profiled in full on the dedicated champion page.
What stories are told about the Harvey family?
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The Harvey family is associated with De Motu Cordis. Each story has its own page on this site with the full account, the date, the location, and the other families involved.
What is the story of De Motu Cordis?
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In the autumn of 1628, at the press of William Fitzer in Frankfurt am Main, William Harvey, fifty years old, the physician to Charles I of England and the fellow of the College of Physicians of London, published a Latin octavo of seventy-two pages titled Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals). The publication had been deliberately set abroad to avoid the English ecclesiastical-licensing scrutiny that would have applied at the London presses. The event is dated to 1628.
Where is the Harvey surname found today?
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England is the primary historical home of the Harvey surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same England origin recorded on this page.
What does the Clan Rising page for the Harvey family cover?
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The Clan Rising page for the Harvey family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of England so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.
Who is the head of the Harvey family today?
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The seat for the head of the Harvey family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.