Livingston Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Livingston last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Livingston last name
Meaning of the Livingston last name: leving's settlement. Livingston is a Scottish surname from Livingston in West Lothian, "Leving's settlement", named after a twelfth-century landowner called Leving. His descendants became the Livingstons of Callendar. A curious detail: Robert Livingston emigrated to New York and was granted a great manor on the Hudson, and his family helped shape early America; the last name Livingstone is the same in another spelling.
Arms associated with the Livingston name
In Scottish heraldry relatives carry their own differenced versions of a coat of arms, so arms associated with the Livingston name vary from one line to another.
Get your full Livingston family history
This is only a glimpse of the Livingston story. The full Livingston history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Livingston coat of arms. Get the full Livingston report.
Livingston name FAQ
What does the Livingston name mean?
Leving's settlement. Common variants include Livingstone, Levingston, Livinston.
Where does the Livingston surname come from?
It originates in Scotland, and is also found in the United States, England and Canada.
Is there a Livingston coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Livingston coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Florence Van Rensselaer, The Livingston Family in America (1949); George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland (New York Public Library, 1946); Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).