This unusual and interesting name is of Old French origin, and is a topographical surname for someone who lived by a stand of poplar trees or a single conspicuous poplar tree. The name derives from the Old French and Middle English "pople", poplar (tree), in modern French "peuple", and now found only as an old provincial term in England. The term "pople" was first introduced into England by Norman followers of William 1 after the Conquest of 1066, giving rise to the early medieval use of the word as a surname. However, the surname also has the unusual distinction of being re-introduced (as a surname) by French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution on the continent in the late 17th Century: one Alured, son of Guillaume and Anne Popple, was christened at the Castle Street French Huguenot Church, London, on June 23rd 1699. The modern surname can be found recorded as Pople and Popple. William Popple (1701 - 1764), was governor of the Bermudas from 1745 till shortly before his death. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Pople (marriage), which was dated August 4th 1558, St. Lawrence Pountney, London, during the reign of Queen Mary, known as "Bloody Mary", 1553 - 1558. 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.

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