This most interesting and unusual surname is of Old German origin, and is a Low German diminutive of "Hubert", which itself derives from a Germanic personal name "Hugibert, Hubert", composed of the elements "hug", heart, mind, spirit, and "berht", bright, famous. The name was borne by an 8th Century bishop of Maastricht, who was adopted as the patron saint of hunters, which helped to increase the popularity of the given name, especially in the Low Countries. The given name was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066; one Eudo filius Huberti was recorded in the Domesday Book of Hampshire in 1086. The surname itself is first recorded in Church Registers of the medieval German States: Nicolaus, son of Anthonius and Anna Huppe, was christened on August 28th 1583 at Pfalz, Bayern (Germany), while another son, Conrad, was christened there on April 17th 1586. Elisabethan Hupe married Joannem Vogedinck on October 25th 1660 at Wellingholzhausen, Hannover. A Coat of Arms depicting a goose proper with elevated wings on a gold shield was granted to a Hupe family living in Cologne, Lubeck. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hans Hupp, which was dated December 28th 1580, marriage to Clara Bender, at Bacharacn, Rheinland, Germany, during the reign of Rudolf 11, Hapsburg Emperor, 1576 - 1612. 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.