This is an Olde English pre 7th century locational name which may in some instances derive from the Shropshire village of Easthope but is more likely to mean "one resident on a field of land enclosed by marsh" or "a small enclosed valley", (Est-hope). However, there is no absolute definition, the precise meaning varying in different localities. The place name is an early recording appearing in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of 901 A.D. for Shropshire. The name development includes William Estoppe in the Sussex Pipe Rolls of 1327. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Esthop which was dated 1275 in the "Hundred Rolls of Shropshire". during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "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.