This interesting and unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a locational name from a so called "lost" place, likely to have once been situated in Bedfordshire or Cambridgeshire, which is suggested by the numerous recordings in both of those counties. The derivation is thought to be from an Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Trippa", from the Olde English "treppan", to tread, with the Middle English development "trip(p)(en)", to tread lightly or dance, with the second element from "hlaw", a low hill, often a burial mound, thus "Trippa's burial mound". It is estimated that there are between seven and ten thousand such places that have disappeared from British maps. Recorded in Knapwell, Cambridgeshire, on August 13th 1696, is the marriage of William Triplow and Susanna Humpfrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margaret Triplow (marriage to Thomas Morche) which was dated April 21st 1566, at the Church of "St. Mary's, Aldermary", during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, 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.