This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: gbell152 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.mor.general/2374.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Unlikely. I imagine you are basing your supposition on how the two words are spelled, but when tracing linguistic links, it is the pronunciation that counts, not how they happen to have been written. And these two names sound quite different. I once learned a little Potuguese, and one of the things which remains in my mind is that the letter "s" at the end of a word is always pronounced like "sh", which would make your surname something like "al-vesh". The village and parish in Moray, on the other hand, is, I think, usually pronounced "avves" - that is, the "l" is not sounded. So I am inclined to think that the similarity in spelling is merely a coincidence. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.