What Does “Levant” Mean? The Story Behind Our Name

By Lisa Jane Davis, Founder of Levant Perfume

The name “Levant” comes from the French word “lever”, meaning “to rise”, as in the rising sun. It points to the East, which is the direction the sun climbs from before it travels across the whole sky. That single idea, warmth rising in the East and spreading outward, is the heart of everything we make. Our tagline says it plainly: Magic From The East.

A name that means the rising sun

People often ask me why the brand is called Levant.

The word comes from the French lever, which means “to rise”. The Levant is the rising sun. It has always pointed toward the East, the direction the light comes from at the start of every day.

I chose the name knowing exactly what it carried. It was not a word I stumbled into. It was the word that said, in a single breath, everything I wanted this brand to be. Warmth. Light. A feeling that arrives quietly and stays with you. The sun coming up over something beautiful and the promise of the day ahead.

That is what Levant means. And once you know it, the name makes complete sense.

Why the East is where it all began

Every brand has a beginning. Ours began in the East.

It began on a balcony in Dubai, looking out across warm, still water, with a feeling I could not shake and a single thought: I wish I could bottle this. That feeling of calm, richness and quiet luxury became Levant No. 1, and it became the soul of everything that followed.

The East is where the magic comes from. It is in the warmth of our fragrances, the oud, the amber, the saffron and spice that give them their depth. It is in the sense of arrival you get from a really beautiful scent. When we say Magic From The East, we mean it literally. That is the source. That is where the light first rises.

But the sun does not stay in one place

Here is the part I love most about our name.

The sun rises in the east, but it does not stay there. It travels. It moves across the sky, from east to west, touching everywhere it passes and leaving warmth behind it. That is exactly how this collection has grown.

The same Eastern soul that began in Dubai has travelled with me. It found the sunlit gardens of Sicily. The bright mornings of the French Riviera. The warm, romantic nights of Istanbul, that timeless meeting place of East and West. The endless Atlantic views of Madeira. Each place added something new, yet every scent still carries that same warmth at its heart. The magic begins in the East, and then it goes wherever the light does.

That is what makes Levant what it is. Not one place, but a journey. An Eastern soul that travels the world and brings a little of that warmth to wherever you are.

A feeling you can carry

For me, a fragrance was never just about smelling good. It was about holding onto a feeling and being able to return to it whenever you want.

That is what the name promises. Levant is the rising sun, the warmth of the East, captured and carried with you through the day. Whether you are drawn to the deep oud of No. 1 or the bright citrus of a scent born somewhere far to the west, you are wearing the same idea. Light that rises in the East and travels everywhere.

‘Levant’ means the rising sun. It points to the east, the source of the warmth and magic at the heart of every fragrance we make, and it carries that warmth outward, from east to west, across every place that has inspired us. That is our name, our tagline, and our whole reason for being. Magic From The East, made to travel with you.

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