Aname with possible Huguenot associations, the derivation is either from Van Crimpe or Crimpen, both names being recorded heraldically in Riestaffs Armorial General for the Netherlands, or from Olde English crump pre 10th Century. In the first instance the name is a medieval metonymic for a Linen worker, whilst the second is a nickname surname for a person with a crooked back or limbs. One John Cramp, an infant, was christened in St. Mary Whitechapel Stepney in 1599. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Crampe, which was dated 1200, in the "Carlularly of Oseney Abbey Oxford", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.