This is a locational name from the parish of Rippingale near Falkingham in Lincolnshire. Rippingale commemorates a minor tribe called the Hrype from which the first element of the name derives, 'gale' comes from the Anglo-Saxon pre 8th century 'gil' meaning a ravine. The Hrype tribe presumably once gathered in a hollow or gorge in that parish. Alternate spellings of the name have included Reppingall (1587) and Rippinghall (1733). In the modern idiom the name has two spelling variations: Rippingale and Rippingall. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John de Repinghal, which was dated 1273, in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire, 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.