Lévai

Lévai, Levai, Levaï, Lévay or Levay is a Hungarian Jewish surname, originating from the Israelite surnames Levi and Levy.

It may refer to:

• István Lévai (boxer) (born 1957), Hungarian boxer
• Ivan Levaï (born 1937), Hungarian-French journalist
• Katalin Lévai (born 1954), Hungarian politician
• Nick Levay (born 1977), American computer security expert
• Simon LeVay (born 1943), British-American neuroscientist
• Sylvester Levay (born 1945), Hungarian composer
• Vivien Lévai (born 1992), Hungarian volleyball player

History

The Holocaust Memorial – an olive tree – in the patio of the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary.

Although the last name Lévai, in the Hungarian language, means "from the town of Levice", this name is considered – almost completely exclusively – a Jewish surname, which was created by the modificiation of the original Jewish name of Levi (surname) or Levy (surname). All of the name's bearers today are of Jewish Descent. During World War II, the time of The Holocaust, the name Lévai/Lévay was a name very much preferred by the Hungarian Jewish population to change their names to – in order to evade persecution.

See also

• Lévay József Református Gimnázium és Diákotthon, a school in Hungary