The Whirpil history begins in
Cornwall, a rugged coastal region in southwestern
England. Quite distinct from
Devon, the adjoining county,
Cornwall had its own spoken language until the late 18th century. The Whirpil history began here. The manner in which
hereditary surnames arose is interesting.
Local surnames were derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored
patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used
local surnames. The Whirpil family originally lived in
Devon at the parish of
Whimple.Early Origins of the Whirpil family
The surname Whirpil was first found in East
Devon at Whimple, a village and civil parish which dates back to the
Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Winple
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) and gets its name from a stream that originally ran through the area as in the Celtic name meaning "white pool or stream."
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) The Whimple Wassail is an orchard-visiting wassail ceremony which takes place annually every Old Twelfth Night (January 17th.)
Early History of the Whirpil family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whirpil research.
Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1642, 1617, 1685, 1662, 1746, 1687, 1750, 1743 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Whirpil History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Whirpil Spelling Variations
Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of
spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into
England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly,
spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of
Cornwall and the rest of
England. The Cornish spoke a unique
Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Whimple, Whirple, Whipple, Wipley, Whippy and many more.
Early Notables of the Whirpil family (pre 1700)
Notable amongst the family at this time was John Whipple
(c. 1617-1685), an early settler of Dorchester in the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and his son, Joseph Whipple (1662-1746), American wealthy merchant in the Colony of Rhode Island...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Whirpil Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Whirpil family to the New World and Oceana
Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Whirpil: Francis Whipple, who settled in Barbados in 1683; John Whipple settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1630; John Whipple settled in San Francisco, Cal. in 1850.