Recorded as Pepys, Pepis, Pepin, Peaple, People, Pepall, Pepil, Pippin, Peppiatt, Peppett, Pippett, Pipet, Pipitt and others, this is a surname of French origins. It is derived from the pre7th century Old French personal names "Pepis or Pepin", introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, or possibly as well at the time of Hugunots in the 16th and 17th centuries, as refugee name. The personal name is of uncertain origin, but may have originally been a personal name Pep or Pip meaning awe-inspiring. The personal name was borne by several Frankish Kings, most notable Pepin le Bref, father of Charlemagne, and the name remained popular throughout the Middle Ages. The name development includes Richard Pepis of Cambridge in 1273, Hawis Pepell of Yorkshire in 1301 and Robert Pepit at St Mary Aldermary, in the city of London in 1624. Jeremiah Peaple and Clara Perry married on March 25th 1863, and of Septimus People and Hannah Mattock on March 29th 1863, both at St. Pancras, Old Church. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph Henry Pipin, which was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book of Leicestershire, during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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.

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