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Capps History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Capps History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Capps is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Capps family lived in Lincolnshire. They were descended from Le Cappere of Ayncourt, in the bailiwick of Caux, Normandy. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from an occupation as in 'the capper,' a maker or dealer in caps probably made of woollen cloth, though felt was used. 2 3

In the Feet of Fines the following was noted: "in the York Pageant amongst other crafts marched the 'cap-makers'; in the Chester Pageant the 'Cappers, Wyerdrawers, and Pynners'; in the Norwich Pageant the 'cappers, hatters'. "

Early Origins of the Capps family

The surname Capps was first found in Lincolnshire where they were granted lands by William the Conqueror, their liege Lord, for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. They were descended from Le Cappere of Ayncourt, in the bailiwick of Caux, and became Tenants in Chief in Lincolnshire, Northampton, and Cheshire. They assumed the name of Ballivia Domini Gaufridi de Capella.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 11273 listed: Symon le Cappere, Oxfordshire; John le Capiere, Oxfordshire; and Thomas le Capiere, Oxfordshire. 2

Early History of the Capps family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Capps research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Capps History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Capps Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Cappe, Capper, Cappar, Capps, Caps, Caper and others.

Early Notables of the Capps family

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

Capps Ranking

In the United States, the name Capps is the 1,473^rd most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 4

Capps migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Capps or a variant listed above were:

Capps Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Capps, who landed in Virginia in 1619 5
Cathrin Capps, who arrived in Virginia in 1622 5
Williams Capps, who settled in Virginia in 1626
William Capps, who settled in Virginia in 1626
Robert Capps, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Capps Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Will Capps, who settled in North Carolina in 1702
William Capps, who arrived in North Carolina in 1702 5

Capps Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Capps, aged 21, who landed in New York, NY in 1851 5

Capps Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Dorothy Capps, aged 8, who settled in America, in 1905
Frank L Capps, aged 35, who immigrated to the United States, in 1905
Ellen Capps, aged 34, who immigrated to the United States from Edmonton, England, in 1906
John Capps, aged 32, who immigrated to the United States from Edmonton, England, in 1906
Johnnie Capps, aged 3, who settled in America from Edmonton, England, in 1906
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Capps migration to Australia +

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

Capps Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Henry Capps, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on July 3, 1822, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6
Mr. Robert Thomas Capps who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 24th March 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mary A. Capps, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Eliza" 8

Capps migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Capps Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Capps, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and servants
William Capps, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Capps (post 1700) +

Mark Capps (1968-2023), American Grammy Award winning sound engineer and music producer from Nashville, Tennessee
James Russell Capps (1931-2020), American politician, Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly from 1994 to 2006
Donald Eric Capps (1939-2015), American theologian, William Harte Felmeth Professor of Pastoral Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary
Charles Capps (1934-2014), American Christian preacher and teacher in the Word of Faith movement, and has had great influence on the movement through his books and teaching
Walter Capps (b. 1934), American Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives for nine months in 1997
Colonel James Austin Capps Sr. (1913-2007), American Army officer
Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps (1864-1935), American naval officer, eponym of the USS Capps (DD-550), a U.S. Navy destroyer
Matt Capps (b. 1983), American Major League Baseball player
Lois Grimsrud Capps (b. 1938), American Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1998
Edwin M. Capps (1860-1938), American Democratic politician from California
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"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 Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 155 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1822
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ELIZA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Eliza.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies