Keeping

This unusual name has very ancient origins being an early Saxon descriptive nickname. It derives from "Cypping" itself a variant of the Olde Germans "Kupp" (pre 7th Century) and would have described a person of large and jolly appearance. The name first appears in the 1086 Domesday Book, Alwinius filius Cheping being recorded in Berkshire, whilst Malreus filius Kipping appears in the Northampton Pipe Rolls of 1170, and William Kipping is recorded in the Essex Rolls of 1206. The name development includes Elizabeth Keeping who married Henry Lane on January 10th 1616 in London by Civil Licence, whilst one John Kiping was a witness at St. Georges in the East on June 1st of that year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Kipping, which was dated 1195, The Pipe Rolls Warwickshire, during the reign of King Richard I, "The Lionheart", 1185 - 1195. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.