English, from the Roman town of Lavinium.

Roman mythology says that Lavinia was the name of the wife of Aeneas and hence the "mother of the Roman people" and that the town was named after her. However there appears to be no valid evidence to support this.

NB A correspondent [ED] notes a relative named Lavinia who was known to all as Ena. This pet name is included but we stress that it is the only example we know of.