DeVan Family History and Genealogy
DeVan Name
Why Would Talcott Change His Name?
Well, we don't know for sure, and we may never know. However, there are some things we do know that contribute to coming up with an educated guess.
This is My Theory
Schools were few and far between in the late 1700's and early 1800's and many children didn't attend school on a regular basis. Talcott probably could not read or write. He left Fairfield and started migrating west. Perhaps when he was married, or when his first child was born, he had to provide his name, but could only say his name. He couldn't write it. The person writing the name for Talcott spelled it the way he/she heard it -- phonetically. This was customary in those days, even as late as the early 1900's.
The Irish might have pronounced "Davern" as "da-van" or "duh-van" with two distinct syllables and a silent "r", resulting in spelling the name "Devan". The capital "V" came later; it gave the appearance of two distinct syllables in the name. The capital "V" is prominent in my great-great grandfather Erastus N. DeVan's writings. (See Note.) But not all DeVans spelled it "DeVan"; Ralph P. signed his Civil War letter "Devan" with a small "v".
In Ireland, the names Devane and Devan are both pronounced "duh-van", with two syllables. In American English the names are typically pronounced "dee-vane" and "devin", two very different names.
Note: In his early adult years Erastus N. could not read or write, which reinforces my belief that Talcott could not read or write.
Derivation of the DeVan Name
DeVan is a variation of Devan, which is a variation of Devin, or Devine. Devin is from an Anglicized Irish surname derived from either of the Irish surnames Ó Damháin (which means "descendent of Damhán") or Ó Dubháin (which means "descendent of Dubhán"). The given name Damhán means "fawn"; the given name Dubhán means "little black one".
