This interesting surname of English origin is an occupational name for a herdsman who had charge of rams, deriving from an agent derivative of the Middle English "to(u)pe" meaning "ram". At York in 1365 men were employed in beating and ramming (tupent) the earth and mud, strengthened with straw, using rammers (tuppis) and great hammers. As the rams were called tups, these workmen may well have been named tuppers, hence, the surname may also be occupational from this source. The surname dates back to the early 14th Century (see below). Further recordings include Robert Tophird (1327), the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire, and William Tuphird (1379), the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire. Records show one Margaret Tupper who was christened on July 3rd 1540 in the Church of St. Peter Cornhill, London, and Joanna Tupper who was christened on March 16th 1564 in the Church of St. Andrew, Enfield, London. One Thomas Tupper went to America in 1635 and helped to found the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1637. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Tupper which was dated 1314, in the "Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield", Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward 11, known as "Edward of Caernafon", 1307 - 1327. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024