| ![Show Contents]() Toopes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of ToopesWhat does the name Toopes mean? The generations and branches of the Toopes family share a name that has its roots in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. The name Toopes comes from the Old Danish personal name Topi. Many Scandinavian personal names were left in the British Isles as a legacy of the Viking raids which plagued the coastal regions of Britain from the 8th to 10th centuries, and many of these eventually became Anglo-Saxon surnames. Early Origins of the Toopes familyThe surname Toopes was first found in Somerset, where the first records of the name are Robert Top and William Toppe, bother recorded there 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 1 "The Dorset family of Topp probably belong to the ancient Wiltshire family of Topp, now extinct, that held the manor of Stockton in Wilts from before the Reformation until the close of last century, when it passed by marriage into the possession of Robert Balch, Esq., of St. Audries, Somerset." 2 "The manor of Killenick [at Land's End, Cornwall] belonged, in the reign of Richard II. to John Longeland and Lankford. This manor has been dismembered ; and it was sold in the year 1720, under a decree of chancery, in its divided state. Bosvargus, which was formerly a seat belonging to a family of that name, was at one time inherited by the learned Jonathan Toup, rector of St. Martin's, near Looe." 3 Some of the family were found in Scotland as "Edward Top admitted [was] burgess of Aberdeen, 1486 is doubtless the Edward Top who was fined in 1497 for 'failzeit in the waching of the tone.'" 4 Early History of the Toopes familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Toopes research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1202, 1580 and 1639 are included under the topic Early Toopes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Toopes Spelling VariationsUntil quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Toopes include Toop, Toope, Tooppe, Toopes, Toup, Toupe, Tupe, Toowp and many more. Early Notables of the Toopes familyMore information is included under the topic Early Toopes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Toopes migration to the United States | + |
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Toopes or a variant listed above:
Toopes Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Henry Toopes, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 5
- Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
- 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)
- 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)
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