This interesting surname of English origin is a locationl name from Jump, a parish near Plymouth in County Devon, or the mining village of Jump in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname dates back to the mid 16th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Steephen Jump who married Margrett Broome on October 7th 1624, at St. Mary's, Somerset, Thomas Jumpe married Sarah Holte on July 8th 1644, at Skipton in Craven, Yorkshire, and Peter Jump married Ann Smith on January 14th 1688, at St. James, Dukes Place, London. John, son of Peter and Ann Jump, was christened at St. Mary's, Whitchapel Stepney, on August 3rd 1690, and Peter Jump married Dorothy Jackson in London on May 31st 1708. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margery Jumpe married John Willyams, which was dated 1569, St. James, Clerkenwell, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "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.