The origins of the Hipsey name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Hipsey was originally derived from a family having lived in Warwickshire, at Ipsley, a parish, in the union of Alcester, Alcester division of the hundred of Barlichway. [1]
The place-name Ipsley is composed of two Old English elements. The first is the word yppe, which meant "upland, high place." The second is leah, which meant "forest clearing." The place-name as a whole means "forest clearing on an upland; clearing in a high place." [2]
The surname Hipsey was first found in Warwickshire where (Holes) de Ippesleye was recorded 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign). [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hipsey research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1748, 1748 and 1825 are included under the topic Early Hipsey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Hipsey include Hippisley, Hippesley, Hippsley, Hipsey, Hipsley and others.
Distinguished members of the family include John Hippisley (d. 1748), English actor and dramatist, "born near Wookey Hole in Somersetshire. He seems to have belonged to a well-known Somerset family. He is said in the ‘Biographia Dramatica’ to have first come on the stage as a candle-snuffer, and on the death of Pinkethman to have...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hipsey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Joseph Hippisley who settled in Maryland in 1774; William Hipsley settled in Barbados in 1654; transferring in 1670 to Virginia; Joe Hippsley settled in St. Christopher in 1635..