Lefebvre

Lefebvre is a French surname, an occupational name derived from the Old French fevre or fèvre, meaning "smith." The Le- prefix is the definite article, so the name can be understood as "the smith." The spelling has numerous variants, including Lefèvre and LeFebre, depending on regional orthography and diacritics.

The surname originated in medieval France and is especially common in the northern and western regions. Today it is widely found in France and in French-speaking communities abroad, notably Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, with a sizable presence in Quebec. It has spread through migration to other regions and languages while retaining its French form in many cases.

Notable people with the surname include Henri Lefebvre (1901–1991), a French philosopher and sociologist known for The Production of Space and The Right to the City; and Marcel Lefebvre (1905–1991), a French Roman Catholic archbishop who founded the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X.

Variants include Lefèvre and LeFebre, among others, reflecting historical spelling shifts and diacritic usage. The name remains a common marker of French heritage in many countries.