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ArchivesRe: Origin and meaning of name
in reply to a message by VESTUS
It would seem to me there are two possibilities here.
First, it could be a masculine form of the female name Vesta, originally the name of the Roman goddess of the hearth.
Or it could be an alternative of the New Testament name Festus. There are parts of England where "F" and "V" have been interchangeable sounds in the past. This has affected many surnames. According to Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames, the surname pairs Fasey/Vasey, Fagg/Vagg, Fann/Vann, Farlow/Varlow, Farnham/Varnham, Fenn/Venn, Fenner/Venner, Fenwic/Vinick, etc., etc., all go back to the same etymological origins.
First, it could be a masculine form of the female name Vesta, originally the name of the Roman goddess of the hearth.
Or it could be an alternative of the New Testament name Festus. There are parts of England where "F" and "V" have been interchangeable sounds in the past. This has affected many surnames. According to Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames, the surname pairs Fasey/Vasey, Fagg/Vagg, Fann/Vann, Farlow/Varlow, Farnham/Varnham, Fenn/Venn, Fenner/Venner, Fenwic/Vinick, etc., etc., all go back to the same etymological origins.
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