Lafayette (name)

Lafayette or La Fayette, is originally a surname or a toponym coming from the Occitan words la faieta and that designates a beech forest.

Due to the fame of American Revolutionary War commander Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Lafayette is also a given name in the United States.

Notable people with the name include:

Surname

 * Andrée Lafayette (1903-1989), French actress
 * Bernard Lafayette (born 1940), American civil rights activist and organizer
 * Ivan Lafayette (1930–2016), longtime member of the New York State Assembly (1977–2008)
 * James Lafayette (1853–1923), pseudonym of James Stack Lauder, portrait photographer,
 * James Armistead Lafayette (c. 1760–1830), aka James Armistead, African-American Revolutionary War spy
 * Nathan LaFayette (born 1973), former National Hockey League player
 * Oliver Lafayette (born 1984), American professional basketball player
 * Ross Lafayette (born 1985), English professional footballer
 * Ruby Lafayette (1844–1935), American film actress

Given name

 * Lafayette C. Baker (1826–1868), American investigator and Union spy during the American Civil War; promoted for his part in apprehending Lincoln's assassins
 * Lafayette Bunnell (1824–1903), American physician, explorer and author
 * Lafayette Caskey (1823–1881), a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
 * La Fayette Eastman (1819-1898), a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
 * LaFayette Emmett (1822–1905), American lawyer, second attorney general of the Minnesota Territory and first chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
 * Lafayette L. Foster (1851-1901), American academic administrator, politician, and journalist
 * Lafayette S. Foster (1806–1880), American senator from Connecticut and Connecticut Supreme Court judge
 * Lafayette Gilchrist (born 1967), American jazz pianist and composer
 * La Fayette Grover (1823–1911), American Democratic politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Oregon
 * Lafayette Guild (1826–1870), United States Army and Confederate States Army surgeon; pioneer in the study of yellow fever
 * Lafayette Head (1825–1897), Colorado legislator and first Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
 * Lafayette Holbrook (1850–1941), mayor of Provo, Utah
 * Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911–1986), better known as L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction author and founder of Scientology
 * Lafayette Lane (1842–1896), Representative from Oregon
 * Lafayette Leake (1919–1990), blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer
 * Lafayette S. Lafe McKee (1872–1959), American actor who appeared in more than 400 films from 1912 to 1948.
 * LaFayette Fayette McMullen (1805–1880), American politician and banker; Virginia state senator, member of the U.S. and Confederate House of Representatives, and Territorial Governor of Washington
 * Lafayette McLaws (1821–1897), Confederate general during the American Civil War
 * Lafayette Mendel (1872–1935), American biochemist
 * Lafayette F. Mosher (1824–1894), American politician and judge in Oregon
 * Lafayette Lever (born 1960), also known as "Fat Lever", former professional basketball player
 * LaFayette L. Patterson (1888–1987), Representative from Alabama
 * Lafayette Russell (1905–1978), college and National Football League running back
 * Lafayette Young (1848–1926), newspaper reporter and editor, and briefly Republican Senator from Iowa