LEVI ODELL

Meaning ‘associated’ in Hebrew; in the Bible it was given by Jacob's wife Leah to her third son as an expression of her hope, ‘Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi’ (Genesis 29:34). The Levites (a Jewish priestly caste) are descended from Levi. In the New Testament, Levi is a byname of the apostle and evangelist Matthew. In modern times the name has been mainly Jewish, although its appeal is now widening. Probably its most famous bearer was Levi Strauss (1829–1902), designer of the tough canvas jeans which still bear his name.

English: 1. habitational name from a place in Bedfordshire, also called Woodhill, from Old English wād ‘woad’ (a plant collected for the blue dye that could be obtained from it) + hyll ‘hill’. Compare Waddell. 2. (O’Dell) of the same origin as 1, but altered by folk etymology as if of Irish origin.