# 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