This interesting surname with variant spellings Whip, Whipp, Whippe, etc., is a metonymic occupational name for someone who carried out judicial floggings, deriving from the Middle English "whip". The surname dates back to the late 13th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Allan Wyppe (1273) "The Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire", Henry Whippe (1331) "The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire". Church recordings include one Thomas Whipp who married Katturn Ampleford on February 14th 1545 at St. Antholin's, Budge Row, London, and John, son of Thomas Whip was christened also at Budge Row. Alexander, son of Robert Whipp, was christened on March 8th 1579, at St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury, London. Thomas, son of Jane Whippe, was christened on October 24th 1585 at Thirsk, Yorkshire, and Thomas, son of Thomas Whipp, was christened on March 4th 1660 in Grinton, Yorkshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Wipe, which was dated 1273 The Hundred Rolls of Norfolk, during the reign of King Edward 1, the "Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.