Show ContentsYrpe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Yrpe family

The surname Yrpe 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 Yrpe family

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

Yrpe 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 Yrpe family name include Earp, Irp, Yrp, Epp, Eppe, Erp, Eirpe, Yrpe, Epps and others.

Early Notables of the Yrpe family

More information is included under the topic Early Yrpe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Yrpe family

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 Yrpe surname or a spelling variation of the name include: settlers, who arrived along the eastern seaboard, from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands.



  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. 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)


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