Hopp
A likely nickname surname connected to hopping, leaping, or a lively gait.
The #7,838 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,076 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a nickname from a word for hopping or leaping. Nineteenth-century writers linked it with Old English and Old Norse forms such as hoppa, meaning to hop or jump, and treated it as part of a family of lively, movement-based surnames. Another possible line of explanation connects it with dialect words for a jumping or restless person; the exact path is not fully certain.
History
The name appears in American records and was noticed by early surname writers, who remarked that it seems more common in the United States than in England. It is also found with close relatives such as Hopps, Hopper, and Hopping, which likely share the same broad nickname base. Because the evidence is thin, the surname’s English history remains somewhat obscure.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname commentators specifically pointed out that Hopp turned up in American directories, even when they could not easily locate it in England.
From the historical record
“Mariner (q.v.) was the term 1 general use. Dancer and Hopp. arc familiar surnames. Doubtless the surname concerns the dancei Oddly enough, I cannot find the surname on English soil. It is ■ common name in the United States.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances