Meaning of Tharpe surname
Hello,
I was wondering if anyone out there would happen to know the origin of the surname Tharpe. My boyfriend bears this surname, but doesn't know the meaning. I would like to know its meaning, in hopes that someday I shall also bear that surname. If anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
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Thank YouThank you so much. I've browsed through much of the earlier posts trying to keep multiple postings of the same surname to a minimum, and have noticed your name when answers are given quite a few times. Is surname research a hobby or, perhaps, your profession? In any event thank you.

(And should you be up for a challenge, my dear friend has a doozy of a last name... Caciabauda!)
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About the surname Baudi/Baudo:

BAUDI, BAUDO
A diminutive form of one of the many names having as final suffix -baldus, from the German bald (courageous).

the above text is taken from the following website:
http://www.italyworldclub.com/genealogy/surnames/b.htm

caccia is the Italian word for 'hunt' (not the verb 'to hunt')
cacio is the Italian word for 'cheese'

I think it is most likely that the first part of Caciabauda is the Italian word caccia and that the -bauda part is from the firstname Baudo. The meaning of this surname would be something like 'Baudo's hunt'. It could also mean 'courageous hunt' as the meaning of the name Baudo means 'courageous'. There is an Italian word baldo with balda as the female form meaning probably 'courageous' or alike, but it's hardly used anymore.
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Thank You AgainWow! Again, thank you so much. She and her father have spent quite a bit of time researching ther ancestry, but have made little progress. They've found that most others who had the Caciabauda surname have shortended it, or changed it to somethinng a little easier to spell and pronounce. Therefore, it's been hard for them to construct any sort of family tree thing. So maybe now they have a clue as to what their name might mean, that can help them in some way. Thank you again.
-Amanda D.
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that is a challenge i think, but it's a hobby, so i'll spend not that much time to it. most names i find by searching at Google.com using different spellings or dictionaries, actually. And i've already found some good sites in the past time that i can use, so i don't know it by heart if you were thinking that.
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Thorpe is an Old Norse word for 'village'. The surnames Thorp, Thorpe, Tharp and Tharpe bear all this meaning.
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