The founding heritage of the Hupper family is in the Anglo-Saxon culture that once dominated in Britain. The name Hupper comes from when one of the family worked as a dancer. The surname Hupper is derived from the Old English word hoppian, which means to hop, to leap, or to dance. [1]
"The name of Hopper is also established in Cambridgeshire and Devonshire. In the 13th century it occurred as Le Hoppere, or Le Hopper, in Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, etc." [2]
The surname Hupper was first found in Wiltshire, where Edric le Hoppere was listed in the Pipe Rolls for 1203 and later in the Curia Regis Rolls for Worcester in 1204. [3]
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had three listings for the family: Richard le Hoppare Oxfordshire; Gerard le Hopper, Suffolk; and Reginald le Hopper, Cambridgeshire. [4]
Further to the north in Scotland, "Robert Hopper received the acre of land called Stampardesakyr in the territory of Coldingham, and in 1275 witnessed a charter of lands in Raynigton to the Abbey of Coldstream. The name of a burgess family of good standing in Edinburgh from beginning of the fifteenth century. David Hopper held a tenement in the burgh in 1486, and Adam Hoppar was a notary public in the diocese of St. Andrews in 1524." [5]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hupper research. Another 159 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1275, 1540, 1559, 1593, 1254, 1628, 1388, 1668, 1687, 1581, 1799, 1834, 1803 and are included under the topic Early Hupper History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Hupper has been spelled many different ways, including Hopper, Hawper, Happer and others.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hupper Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Hupper family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Huppers to arrive in North America: Robert Hopper arrived in Philadelphia in 1686; Anthony Hopper settled in Maryland in 1775; along with Cornelius, Thomas; Fred, George, John, Robert, Thomas and William Hopper all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..