Tupp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Tupp family

The surname Tupp was first found in Saxony where they were an ancient family "well known in the literature of Germany and France." 1 The family held a family seat at Thuringe in later years. The family became dispersed when they were beset by the religious conflicts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Under Charles V of France the main branch were described as Lutherans or "tout-perd" which in the Netherlands became Toupard. From this source, "the principal branch went to Guernsey in 1548." 1 Another source follows this timeline but adds "A branch of the family settled in England at Sandwich, Kent, whence another descendant, Thomas Tupper, went to America in 1635, and helped to found the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts in 1637." 2 Yet another source claims a completely different origin of the name. In this case, the name originated at "York in 1365 [when] men were employed in beating and ramming (tupant) the earth and mud, strengthened with straw, with rammers (tuppis) and great hammers. As the rams were called tups, these workmen may well have been named tuppers." 3 The latter source may have some credence as early rolls revealed: Robert Tophird in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1327, 3 and Willelmus Tuphird in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

Early History of the Tupp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tupp research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1821, 1887 and 1896 are included under the topic Early Tupp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tupp Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Topper, Toppfer, Tupper, Touper, Toper and others.

Early Notables of the Tupp family

Notable in the family at this time was

Sir Charles Tupper

Tupp migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Tupp Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Tupp, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 5

The Tupp Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: L'espoir est ma force
Motto Translation: Hope is my strength.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)