Vipan

This very rare and unusual name has a continental origin as can be seen in the first recording and perhaps not surprisingly there are a wide variety of recorded spellings including, Vipond (1622), Veppine (1623), Vypont (1642) and Vipan (1718), Eleanor Vipan marrying William Tyther at St. Dunstans, Stepney, on the 19th of October of that year. The origin of the name however is less obvious, but is believed to be a variant spelling of Le Poyntz, a name originally from Normandy but of Roman descent, and translating as 'the bridge or ocean'. Le Poyntz was first recorded in England in the 1086 Domesday Book, for Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gladen Vepoynte. which was dated 1554 (married) Magdalena Funett at St. Martins in the Fields, London. during the reign of King Edward VI 'The Boy King' 1548-1554. 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.