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Arp History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Arp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Arp family

The surname Arp was first found in Tideswell, Derbyshire where Richard le Yrope was listed in 1157, according to the Feudal History of the County of Derby. In Lincolnshire, Matthew Yrp held lands there according to the Curia Regis Rolls of 1200. Later, Henry Erpe was listed in Yorkshire in 1304 and John Irp was registered in Suffolk in 1332. 1

According to the The History of the Antient (Ancient) Abbeys, Monasteries, Hospitals, Cathedral and Collegiate Churches Willielmo de Erpe was recorded in 1252. The Northamptonshire Tax Assessment Rolls list John Yrp, of Gunthorp in 1301 and in Lancashire, John de Ypre, was Sheriff of Lancashire in 1361 and later, Johes de Ipre, was Member of Parliament in 1370.

The name is derived from the Old English word "ierpe," a byform of the Old English "earp," meaning "swarthy." 1 Erp, "Yrp appears as the name of a Welsh king by itself in Liber Llandavensis." 2

In Scotland, "the name was borrowed from the Picts by the Norsemen and gave name to the Icelandic family of Erplingi. Erp, son of Meldun, a Scots earl, was captured by the Norsemen, and as a freedman, went to colonize Iceland in the end of the ninth century." 2

Nicholas Porter Earp (1813-1907), father of the famed lawmen Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina and is believed to be descended from the first immigrant of the name, Thomas Earp who landed in Anne Arundel County on July 6, 1674 as an indentured servant from Ireland.

Early History of the Arp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Arp research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1561 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Arp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Arp Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Arp family name include Earp, Irp, Yrp, Epp, Eppe, Erp, Eirpe, Yrpe, Epps and others.

Early Notables of the Arp family

Distinguished members of the family include

Earp of Lincolnshire

Arp Ranking

In the United States, the name Arp is the 10,008^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Arp migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Arp surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Arp Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jo Arp, aged 19, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Transport" 4

Arp Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Klaus Arp, who arrived in Iowa in 1851 4

Arp migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Arp Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Margareth Arp, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Steinwaerder" 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Arp (post 1700) +

Bill Arp (1826-1903), pseudonym of Charles Henry Smith, an American writer and politician from the state of Georgia
Andrice Arp (b. 1969), American comics artist and illustrator, and the daughter of Halton Arp
Halton Christian "Chip" Arp (b. 1927), American astronomer, known for his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, and for discovering the Arp number
A. Henry Arp, American politician, Mayor of Moline, Illinois (1933-1945)
Jean Arp (1888-1966), German-born, French sculptor
Mads Arp (b. 1969), Danish composer/producer
Sophie Taeuber- Arp (1889-1943), Swiss artist

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) STEINWARDER 1849 aka STEINWAERDER. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Steinwarder.htm