levy

Levy, sometimes written Lévy, is a surname of Jewish origin, typically derived from the given name Levi. It is widespread in Jewish and non-Jewish communities and appears in many countries with various spellings, including Levy, Lévy, and Levi. In some contexts it also serves as a given name.

In government finance, a levy is a mandatory payment or tax imposed by a government, authority, or organization on individuals or entities to fund public services or programs.

In mathematics and probability, Lévy denotes a family of concepts associated with the French mathematician Paul Lévy. Notable examples include the Lévy process, a stochastic process with stationary independent increments; the Lévy distribution, a heavy-tailed one-sided distribution; the Lévy flight, a random walk with occasional long jumps; and the Lévy measure, part of the Lévy–Khintchine representation of infinitely divisible distributions.

Other uses include place names and organizations, and the related surname Levi. The term often appears in legal and financial contexts referring to tax levies or other mandated payments.