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ArchivesRe: Gilpin?
in reply to a message by Hannah Ruth
The name is certainly English but not much is known for sure beyond that. Some sources claim that it comes from the River Gilpin in Cumbria while others suspect that the family name came first and the river name later. This is probably right since family names seldom if ever come from river names. At any rate, the meaning of the name remains unknown as far as I can tell. You'll find the first Gilpin to come to America at http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=gilpin1&id=I905
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Some confirmation of Marc's reply and a little speculation on meaning from Basil Cottle ("Penguin Dictionary of Surnames") -
"A surname of south Westmoreland since the 1200s, and a river name there recorded since the 1600s; if the latter came first it might be an OE word related to 'gulp', but if the river is named after the family then some N meaning like 'bloated' may be intended."
Westmoreland is now incorporated into the county of Cumbria. OE = Old English, and N = nickname.
"A surname of south Westmoreland since the 1200s, and a river name there recorded since the 1600s; if the latter came first it might be an OE word related to 'gulp', but if the river is named after the family then some N meaning like 'bloated' may be intended."
Westmoreland is now incorporated into the county of Cumbria. OE = Old English, and N = nickname.
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