Recorded mainly in the spellings of Lindop and Lindup, this is an early medieval English surname. It is locational and probably from a minor place called Lindop Wood in the county of Derbyshire, or possibly as a topographical name for one who lived in a valley filled with lime trees. The placename itself derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century elements "lind", meaning a lime tree, plus either "hop", generally translated as a small enclosed valley, but with the secondary meaning of a upper or higher valley branching out from the main dale. It is claimed that the name is first recorded in the 13th century when one Robert de Lindop was so recorded in the records of Derbyshire in circa 1245. It is also claimed that this family lived at the village of Calton, near Chatsworth, in Derbyshire. However the surname is very well recorded in the adjoining counties, and early examples of the surname recordings taken from surviving church registers include: Em Lindoppe who married John Yeomans at Repton in Derbyshire on July 2nd 1582, the christenings of Johanna and Alicia, daughters of Hugonis Lindoppe on May 1st 1583, and March 2nd 1585, respectively, at St. Peter's, Sheffield, Yorkshire; and the marriage of Betty Lindop and James Shuttleworth on January 31st 1743, at Manchester Cathedral, Lancashire. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was often known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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