Recorded in several forms, all rare, and including Vamplew, Vamplus, Vamplers and Vampouille, this is a surname of French origins. We believe that it was originally locational, and from a place called Vampouille or similar, but this is not proven. Unfortunately early French registers and records are at best erratic, and often non existent. Many, perhaps the majority, were destroyed in the Revolution of 1792, as all such registers were thought to provide the then secret police of the monarchy, with too much information. In this case though we have been very lucky in that we have located a number of 17th century recordings, which at least prove that the name has an origin, and that the modern spelling has more or less survived for over three hundred years. This would seem to include at least one move across La Manche, otherwise known as the English Channel. These early recordings include: Quentin Vamplus and his wife Anne, formerly de Lannoy, witnesses at the christening of their son Jean, at the village of Nielles-les-Calais, in the region known as the Par-de-Calais, on July 1st 1651, and the marriage of the same Jean Vamplus to Christine du Pre at Quines, also Par-de-Calais, on February 16th 1676. Curiously a parallel recording shows Jean Lamplers marrying Chrestiene de Pre, an indication of how name spelling can be changed at will. In the 20th century we found the recording of Berthe Vampouille, who married Jules Agez at Gravelines, Department de Nord, on September 2nd 1913.

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