Jesop History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Jesop is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The name Jesop came from the ancient personal name Joseph. The surname Jessop was a baptismal name which meant Joseph. 1

Baptismal names began to appear as surnames relatively late in the growth of the naming tradition. This is a little surprising, given the popularity of biblical figures in the Christian countries of Europe. Nevertheless, surnames derived from baptismal names grew in popularity during the Middle Ages, and have become one of the foremost sources for surnames.

Early Origins of the Jesop family

The surname Jesop was first found in Sussex where William Josep was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1296. 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included an entry for Richard filius Josep in Cambridgeshire at that time and later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus Josop and Johannes Jesop as holding lands there. 3

Early History of the Jesop family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jesop research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1602, 1612, 1624, 1631, 1632, 1643, 1648, 1658, 1663 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Jesop History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jesop Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Jesop are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Jesop include Jessop, Jessope, Jesop, Jesope, Jessopp, Jessup and many more.

Early Notables of the Jesop family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Constantine Jessop (1602?-1658), an English Presbyterian minister, son of John Jessop, minister at Pembroke, was born about 1602. In 1624, at the age of twenty-two, he was entered as a student at Jesus College, Oxford. "Thence he went to Trinity College, Dublin, and there graduated B.A. He was incorporated B.A. at Oxford on 30 June 1631, and graduated M.A. on 8 May 1632. On 11 May...
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Jesop Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Jesop family to Ireland

Some of the Jesop family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jesop migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Jesop, or a variant listed above:

Jesop Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joseph Jesop, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 4

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-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)
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)