Leveson-Gower family
Leveson-Gower (/ˈljuːsən
Name
Leveson-Gower is a well-known example of an English surname with counterintuitive pronunciation.
The name Leveson is a patronymic from Louis or Lewis. In early modern times it was often rendered Luson: for example, in 1588, Elizabeth I received a letter from the King of Denmark concerning the depredations of Walter Leveson of Lilleshall Abbey, in which he is consistently referred to as Sir Walter Luson.[2]
Gower is a locational name, possibly derived from a place so-named in Kent, or from the Gower Peninsula in southern Wales. It could also refer to one of the various towns named Gouy in northern France.[3]
The hyphen is used by only some members of the family.
Titles in the family
- Gower baronetcy, of Sittenham (created 1620, now a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Sutherland)
- Baron Gower (created 1703, now a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Sutherland)
- Viscount Trentham (created 1746, now a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Sutherland)
- Earl Gower (created 1746, now a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Sutherland)
- Earl Granville (created 1833)
- Earl of Sutherland (created c. 1230)
- Marquess of Stafford (created 1786, now a subsidiary title of the dukedom of Sutherland)
- Duke of Sutherland (created 1833, passed to the Egerton family in 1963 along with the dukedom's subsidiary titles)
Other notable members
(All British)
- Frederick Neville Sutherland Leveson-Gower (1874–1959), politician
- H. D. G. Leveson Gower (1873–1954), English cricketer
- Frederick Leveson-Gower (1871–1946), English cricketer
- George Leveson-Gower (1858–1951), politician
- Lord Ronald Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1845–1916), politician
- Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Granville (1773-1846) Whig statesman and diplomat
- Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891) Liberal politician and foreign minister
- John Leveson-Gower (1740–1792) Rear Admiral (Royal Navy) and politician
References
- ↑ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.505
- ↑ State Papers Foreign, August 1588.
- ↑ "Last name: Gower". The Internet Surname Database.