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![Show Contents]() Whippay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Cornwall in southwestern England provides the original birthplace of the surname Whippay. As populations grew, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used local surnames. This was due to the heavy political and cultural influence of the English upon the Cornish People at the time that surnames first came into use. Local surnames were derived from where a person lived, held land, or was born. While many Cornish surnames of this sort appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames derived from lost or unrecorded place names. The name Whippay history began in Devon at the parish of Whimple. Early Origins of the Whippay familyThe surname Whippay was first found in East Devon at Whimple, a village and civil parish which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Winple 1 and gets its name from a stream that originally ran through the area as in the Celtic name meaning "white pool or stream." 2 The Whimple Wassail is an orchard-visiting wassail ceremony which takes place annually every Old Twelfth Night (January 17th.) Early History of the Whippay familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whippay research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1617, 1642, 1662, 1685, 1687, 1743, 1745, 1746 and 1750 are included under the topic Early Whippay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Whippay Spelling VariationsCornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Whimple, Whirple, Whipple, Wipley, Whippy and many more. Early Notables of the Whippay familyNotable amongst the family at this time was John Whipple (c. 1617-1685), an early settler of Dorchester in the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and his son, Joseph Whipple (1662-1746), American wealthy merchant in the Colony of Rhode Island...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Whippay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Whippay familyA search of the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Whippay: Francis Whipple, who settled in Barbados in 1683; John Whipple settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1630; John Whipple settled in San Francisco, Cal. in 1850.
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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