Tappin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales

The Celtic origin of the name Tappin was long ago developed in Wales. This surname comes from the names Tam, Thom, and Tom, which are pet forms of the personal name Thomas. The surname Tappin features a double diminutive, formed from the suffixes -el and -in. 1 2 3

Early Origins of the Tappin family

The surname Tappin was first found in Breconshire (Welsh: Sir Frycheiniog), a traditional county in southern Wales, which takes its name from the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog (5th-10th centuries), where they were conjecturally descended from Elystan Glodrydd, Prince of Fferllys, through Thomas of Llyn Madoc. Hence Tomlyn, in North Wales was commonly replaced by an 'a' hence Tamlyn.

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Today we typically need to look beyond the spellings of these entries and concentrate on a phonetic appreciation of the names. Peter Tamelyn was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4 "The 14th - cent. English forms are Tomelyn, Thomelyn, Tomlyn, Thomlyn." 2 In Somerset, John Tomelyn and John Thomelyn were both listed there 1 Edward III (in the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 5

Early History of the Tappin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tappin research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1563, 1621, 1629, 1650, 1750, 1762, 1763, 1772, 1774, 1787, 1803, 1804, 1811, 1815, 1820, 1827, 1828, 1841 and 1872 are included under the topic Early Tappin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tappin Spelling Variations

Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Tappin has occasionally been spelled Tamblyn, Taplin, Tapling, Tomblyn, Tomlyn, Tomline and many more.

Early Notables of the Tappin family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Richard Tomlins or Tomlyns (1563-1650), an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1621 and 1629; and Sir George Pretyman Tomline (1750-1828), born George Pretyman, Bishop of Lincoln (1787-1820.) He was "tutor of the younger Pitt, and bishop of Winchester, was the son of George Pretyman of Bury St. Edmunds, by his wife Susan, daughter of John Hubbard. His father represented an ancient and respectable Suffolk family which had held land at Bacton in Suffolk from the fifteenth century. Tomline (who until 1803 bore the name...
Another 176 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tappin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tappin migration to the United States +

In the 1800s and 1900s, many Welsh families left for North America, in search of land, work, and freedom. Those who made the trip successfully helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and the cultural heritage of both Canada and the United States. In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Tappin

Tappin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hen Tappin, who arrived in Virginia in 1642 6
John Tappin, who landed in Virginia in 1662 6
John Tappin, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 6
Ann Tappin, who landed in Virginia in 1664 6

Tappin migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Tappin Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Tappin, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Weymouth" in 1866
Mr. William Tappin, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Weymouth" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 3rd July 1866 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Tappin (post 1700) +

Oliver Tappin, American politician, Mayor of Flint, Michigan, 1940 8
John Lindsley Tappin (1906-1964), American Republican politician, U.S. Ambassador to Libya, 1954-58 8
Captain Richard Tappin Claridge FSA (1797-1857), English asphalt contractor and captain in the Middlesex Militia, best known for his prominent promotion of hydropathy, now known as hydrotherapy, in the 1840s

The Tappin Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Quondam his vicimus armis
Motto Translation: We formerly conquered with these arms.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html