Pepys One-Name Study

The arms of Pepys as shown in early 'visitations'.

Pepys
One-Name Study

Topics

About the Pepys One-Name Study
Variants
Origin of the surname
Historical occurrences
Frequency of the name
Distribution of the name
Data
Links
Contact Details

About the Pepys One-Name Study

Welcome to 'The Pepys One Name Study'. The reason I am interested in the name 'Pepys' is that my mother was a 'Pepys' and her 19th century ancestors were 'Peeps.'

Variants

Surviving Variants: Pepys, Peeps, Peaps, Peapes, Papes (the last three at least into the 20th century).

Historical Variants: Pepys, Peppys, Pepis, Peppis, Pepes, Peppes. Peps, Pepps. Peeps, Peapes, Peaps.

Less common: Papys, Pipes (there is an overlap with records for Pipes that may have a separate origin). Several of the Norfolk families changed from Peeps to Pepys in the 20th century and one family became 'Peeps Pepys' (no hyphen).

Origin of the surname

The origin of the name 'Pepys' (Pepis/Pepes) is thought to be the transformation of the forename Pipin/Pepin. There is a parallel origin to the name Pipes.

Pepys is pronounced in three main ways: 'Peeps', 'Pepp-is', or 'Pep(p)s'. 'Peeps' is the pronunciation that was believed to be used by Samuel Pepys, and the Peeps, Peapes, and Peaps families of Norfolk and Newcastle. The families descended from the Impington, Cambridge line use the pronunciation 'Peppis'. The Norfolk family that became 'Papes' probably was a result of Norfolk dialect.

Historical occurrences

The most notable of the name was Samuel Pepys 'The Diarist' 1623-1703.

William Hasledine Pepys 1775-1856 was a notable chemist and friend of Humphrey Davy.

Richard Pepys, 1589-1659 was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.

William Weller Pepys, 1740-1825, was made first Baronet, his son -

Charles Christopher Pepys, 1781-1851, became Earl Cottenham.

Frequency of the name

Samuel Pepys in his famous diary wondered about the small number of Pepys in his day (perhaps a hundred at the time). There are now just a few dozen people in the world (mainly in US and UK) by the name Pepys or Peeps.

Distribution of the name

The name Pipin and Pepin occur in the Domesday book of Lincolnshire. Variations derived from these names occur in Derbyshire, and Norfolk. If Pipes (Pypes) and Pepys had related origins they clearly diverged prior to the 16th century.

William Pepys born abt. 1464 was bailiff to the abbot of Crowland, Cambridgeshire. William had three sons from whom are descended the two Norfolk branches of Burnham and South Creake, and the Impington, Cambridgeshire branch, from the latter are descended Samuel Pepys and the Earl of Cottenham. Later generations spread to US and Australia, but remain small in number.

Data

I have complete birth, marriage and death registrations for the names Pepys, Peeps, Peapes, Peaps, and Papes for 1837 to 1901 and some records for 1901 to present day.

Census information

US 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930

UK, 1841 (partial), 1851 (Norfolk), 1861 (partial), 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901.

I have the genealogies taken from two main published genealogies, with additions and amendments of my own.

Genealogy of the Pepys Family 1273-1887, Pepys, Walter Courtenay, 1840-(Main Author), Frederick Muller, reprinted by Barnes and Noble. Available on microfilm from LDS.

Eight Generations of the Pepys Family, 1500-1800, Chappell, Edwin. London, 1936 (Private Publication)

Links

A fuller version of my Pepys one name study can be found at www.aaprescott.com/pepys

Contact details

For further information, contact:

Mr Andrew A Prescott
PO Box 68,
Hillsborough,
North Carolina
27278
USA
E-mail:

This page last updated 25 February 2008.