Show ContentsPapps History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

  • Origins Available:
  • Italy
  • Scotland
Papps Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Papps

What does the name Papps mean?

The clans of the ancient Scottish Pictish tribe were the ancestors of the first person to use the name Papps. It was name for a confident or haughty person. Papps is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Nicknames form a broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, and can refer directly or indirectly to one's personality, physical attributes, mannerisms, or even their habits of dress. The surname Papps comes from the Old English word pope, which referred to the Bishop of Rome, and the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Although this is also a title of office, as a surname, it was most often applied as a nickname. 1

Early Origins of the Papps family

The surname Papps was first found in Elgin where "a family of Paips or Papes appear to have belonged originally, and some of them were in the legs profession before the Reformation. In Caithness, Sutherland, and Orkney, the surname is still pronounced Paip. In 1363 William Pop, son and heir of William Pop, burgess of Elgin, made a gift to the altar of the Virgin in the church of S. Giles in Elgin, and in 1375 there is mention of Robert Pop of Elgin. Adam Popp and Robertus Popp were jurors on an assize regarding the mill lands of Quarelwode in 1389." 2

Early History of the Papps family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Papps research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1137, 1393, 1397, 1400, 1507, 1516, 1540, 1559, 1573, 1580, 1585, 1596, 1598, 1599, 1602, 1603, 1606, 1611, 1622, 1624, 1627, 1631, 1653, 1660, 1688, 1714, 1744 and 1782 are included under the topic Early Papps History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Papps Spelling Variations

Scribes in the Middle Ages did not have access to a set of spelling rules. They spelled according to sound, the result was a great number of spelling variations. In various documents, Papps has been spelled Pope, Paip, Pape, Paipe, Popp and others.

Early Notables of the Papps family

Thomas Pope (died 1400), from Gloucester, was an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Gloucester in 1393 and 1397; Sir Thomas Pope (1507-1559), English founder of Trinity College, Oxford, elder son of William Pope, a small landowner at Deddington, near Banbury; and Walter Pope (c. 1627-1714), an English astronomer and poet from Northamptonshire. Sir William Pope (1573-1631) of Wroxton Abbey, near Banbury, was made knight of the Bath in 1603, and...
Another 71 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Papps Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Papps migration to Australia +

Papps Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Henry Papps, aged 34, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Nugget" 3
  • George Papps, aged 14, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Nugget" 3

Papps migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Papps Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Joseph Frederick Papps, aged 24, a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Forfarshire" in 1873 4
  • James Papps, aged 19, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Papps (post 1700) +

  • Michael Papps (1932-2022), Australian sports shooter who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics
  • Stephen Papps, New Zealand actor
  • Michael Papps (b. 1979), New Zealand cricketer
  • Alex Papps (b. 1969), Greek-Australian actor and television host
  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  3. South Australian Register. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Nugget 1858. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/nugget1858.shtml
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 6th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html

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