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The Atlantic Ocean to the north and west and the English Channel to the south borders Cornwall, the homeland to the Whipp family name. Even though the usage of surnames was common during the Middle Ages, all English people were known only by a single name in early times. The manner in which hereditary surnames arose is interesting. Local surnames are derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. The Whipp family originally lived in Devon at the parish of Whimple.
The surname Whipp 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.)
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whipp 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 Whipp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cornish 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.
Notable amongst the family at this time was
The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Whipp: