This most interesting surname of Anglo-Saxon origin derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Taeppa". It may be either a diminutive or a patronymic form of this given name; if a patronymic, the suffix "-ing", means "son of". The personal name "Taeppa" is also found in many placenames, for example, Tappington, Taplow, Tapner and Tapton, and is thought to derive from "Taeppere", which means "one who taps casks, an inn-keeper". The surname first appears in records in the early 13th Century (see below). One Geoffrey Tapping was recorded in the Feet of Fines of Northumberland in 1235, while the Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire record a Robert Tappyng in 1221. London Church Registers list the following entries: Joone Topyune, who married Robert Wodde on May 27th 1549 at All Hallows, Honey Lane, and the marriage of Leonard Toppin to Joanes Haynes on August 30th 1552 at St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey. Miles Tappin was a landholder in the Barbadoes in 1679 and had sons Miles and William, baptised on April 1st 1678 and September 15th 1679 respectively, in the parish of St. George's, Barbadoes. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ralph Tapping, which was dated 1220, in the "Feet of Fines of Berkshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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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