This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a dialectal variant of a locational surname from 'Sheringham', in Norfolk, found as 'Shrimplin' and 'Shrimpling'. A similar dialectal change occurs with the place called 'Sherington' in Buckinghamshire, where the local surname has become 'Shrimpton'. The placename 'Sheringham' is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Silingeham', and in 1242 as 'Scheringham', and is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name 'Scira', from 'scir', bright, fair, with the suffix 'ing(as)', meaning 'people of ', and 'ham', a village or homestead, thus the name means 'the village of Scira's people'. One Elizabeth Shrymphyn was christened at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on the 3rd October 1549, and the marriage of John Shimplin to Ruth Smith was recorded at Repps with Bastwick in Norfolk on the 18th May 1617. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richarde Shrymplinge (christening), which was dated 5th March 1539, at Thrigby, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as Bluff King Hal, 1509 - 1547. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024