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Clapp History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Clapp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Clapp is a name of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from Osgoode Clapa (d. 1054), a nobleman of Danish origin, who served King Harthacanute (1018-1042) and Edward the Confessor. Another possible origin of the surname Clapp may be that it derived from the Old English word clop which meant "lump," or "hill." As such, it may have been a nickname for someone who was large or ungainly.

Early Origins of the Clapp family

The surname Clapp was first found in Surrey. The place name Clapham or "Clappa's farm"dates back to Anglo-Saxon times. Osgoode Clapa (d. 1054) held land in the Kingdom of East Anglia. He was listed as a witness to charters from 1026, and is mentioned the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles."

Other early records of the name include Simon Clapp in the Curia Regis Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1206; William le Clop in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire of 1222; and Laurence Clappe listed in the Pipe Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1230. 1

Early History of the Clapp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Clapp research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1609, 1678, 1691 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Clapp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Clapp Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Clapp have been found, including Clapp, Clap, Clapps and others.

Early Notables of the Clapp family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Roger Clapp, born April 6, 1609 in Sallcom, Devon, England, died in 1691 in America, who wrote memoirs of the trip of the "Mary & John" and the early days of the settlement in Massachusetts

Clapp Ranking

In the United States, the name Clapp is the 3,636^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2

Clapp migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Clapp, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were :

Clapp Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Clapp, who was on record in Barnstable Massachusetts in 1630
Roger Clapp, who arrived at Nantasket, MA, aboard the "Mary and John" in 1630
Roger Clapp, aged 21, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Mary and John" 3
Edward Clapp, who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1633
Elija Clapp, who arrived in Virginia in 1648
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Clapp Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Clapp, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1727 3
Cap. Clapp, who arrived in Boston in 1766
James Clapp, who settled in Boston in 1767

Clapp Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Clapp, who landed in New York in 1822 3
Elisha, Clapp Jr., who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1822 3
Ambrose Clapp, who landed in New York in 1824 3
W R Clapp, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
C Clapp, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Clapp migration to Australia +

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

Clapp Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Clapp, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Clapp (post 1700) +

Althea Louise Brough Clapp (1923-2014), American tennis player, ranked World Number 1, in 1955, winner of six Grand Slam singles titles, inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1967
John Clapp, American illustrator of children's books
Cornelia Maria Clapp (1849-1934), American zoologist specializing in marine biology
Nicolas Clapp, American based film-maker, photographer
Margaret Antoinette Clapp (1910-1974), American scholar and educator, winner of the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for biography, president of Wellesley College (1949-1966)
Philip Greeley Clapp (1888-1954), American educator, conductor, pianist, and composer of classical music
Henry Austin Clapp (1841-1904), American theatre critic, and Shakespearean scholar
Moses Edwin Clapp (1851-1929), American politician, US Senator from Minnesota
George Hubbard Clapp (1858-1949), American pioneer in the aluminium industry
Richard "Stubby" Clapp (b. 1973), Canadian baseball player

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"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) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817