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The ancestry of the name App dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived near one or more notable aspen trees. The surname App is derived from the Old English word æpse, which means aspen. The surname may also be a nickname in jest, for a timid person, referring to the trembling leaves of the tree. 1
However, one source notes that name may be "a genitive form of Ape or Appe; a personal name, ante [(before)]1066 [and in the] Domesday Book. " 2
The surname App was first found in Huntingdonshire where the singular name Eppe was recorded c. 1250. A few years later, Roger Eppe was listed in Norfolk according to the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275. The name could have originated at Epps Farm in Bentley, Warwickshire. 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our App research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1307, 1327, 1524, 1534, 1604, 1628, 1658, 1779, 1787, 1805, 1815, 1823, 1833, 1845, 1869 and 1874 are included under the topic Early App History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 App have been found, including Apps, Apse, Abbs, Abb, App, Apsey, Epps, Ebbs, Epsey, Epp and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include:
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. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name App, or a variant listed above: