This spelling is one of the more unusual dialectal variants which derive from the Norse-Viking "porp" of the pre 8th Century and more commonly recorded as "Thorp". There are many places called Thorp(e), and indeed the name itself describes "a place", although probably more specifically a hamlet or village. As the Viking influence spread throughout Europe, the word and surname was recorded in German as "Dorpror Dorpma", in Flanders-Netherlands as "Van Dorp" or "Van den Dorpe", and in France as "Torp". In England the variant forms seem to have adopted a regional basis, Throp(e) being found in the North and East, Throp and Thrupp being mainly midland spellings, whilst Thripp and Fripp are generally recorded in the West Country. Examples of the recording include: Thomas, son of John Thripp, in 1607 (Wiltshire), whilst Ursula Fripp, of the same county, died in 1674. In 1739, the name moved to the London area, Elizabeth Tripp marrying James Mort at St. James' Church, Clerkenwell, London, in the reign of George 11 (1727 - 1760). A townland in Perth, Scotland is called Threip, and it is possible that some nameholders derive from this place, although the meaning and origin is exactly the same. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Thripp, which was dated 1580, in the "Wills Register of Broad Chalke", Wiltshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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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