Taplady History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Taplady

What does the name Taplady mean?

The name Taplady came to England with the ancestors of the Taplady family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Taplady family lived in Yorkshire. The name is derived from a combination of the Old English personal name Topp, and the word leah, meaning wood or clearing, and indicates that the original bearer lived near a wood or clearing owned by someone named Topp.

Early Origins of the Taplady family

The surname Taplady was first found in Yorkshire where they are conjecturally descended from a junior branch of the Percys. Topcliff (Topclive) in the North Riding of Yorkshire was granted to a Norman Baron named William Percy who later became the Earl of Northumberland and one of the most senior mighty nobles of the land. At the time of the Conquest, Topcliff consisted of a church and a mill on the side of the banks of the River Swale. 1

The first record of the Tiplady variant was that of Johanna Tippelevedy who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301. Later John Typlady and Henry Tipelady were both listed in Yorkshire in 1490 and 1494, respectively. 2

And a search of early rolls for the Topcliffe variant revealed Herueus de Toppecliue in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. 2

Early History of the Taplady family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Taplady research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1391, 1451, 1532, 1593, 1598, 1603, 1604, 1740, 1778, 1832 and 1834 are included under the topic Early Taplady History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Taplady Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries. For that reason, spelling variations are common among many Anglo-Norman names. The shape of the English language was frequently changed with the introduction of elements of Norman French, Latin, and other European languages; even the spelling of literate people's names were subsequently modified. Taplady has been recorded under many different variations, including Topley, Topler, Topliffe, Topcliff, Topclive, Toppley, Topleif, Toplief, Toplis and many more.

Early Notables of the Taplady family

George Topcliff, Member of Parliament for Scarborough (1451); and Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778), an Anglican clergyman and hymn-writer. Richard Topcliffe (1532-1604), was a persecutor of Roman Catholics, born, according to his own account, in 1532, was the eldest son of Robert Topcliffe of Somerby, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. "Topcliffe's name appears in the special commission against Jesuits which...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Taplady Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Taplady migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainty of the political and religious uncertainty found in England, many English families boarded ships at great expense to sail for the colonies held by Britain. The passages were expensive, though, and the boats were unsafe, overcrowded, and ridden with disease. Those who were hardy and lucky enough to make the passage intact were rewarded with land, opportunity, and social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families went on to be important contributors to the young nations of Canada and the United States where they settled. Tapladys were some of the first of the immigrants to arrive in North America:

Taplady Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Taplady, who landed in Virginia in 1649 3

Sources +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)