Deville Family History

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Déville in Seine-Maritime, France, probably named with Latin dei villa ‘settlement of (i.e. under the protection of) God’. This name was interpreted early on as a prepositional phrase de ville or de val and applied to dwellers in a town or valley (see Ville and Vale). English: nickname from Middle English devyle, Old English deofol ‘devil’ (Latin diabolus, from Greek diabolos ‘slanderer’, ‘enemy’), referring to a mischievous youth or perhaps to someone who had acted the role of the Devil in a pageant or mystery play. French: variant of Ville, with the preposition de.

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