Jessup
A surname that likely began as a variant of Joseph, with English forms such as Jessop and Jesop also in the same family of names.
The #5,037 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,335 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jessup is generally treated as an English surname from the personal name Joseph, ultimately from Hebrew Yosef, meaning “he will add.” Historical spellings and related forms include Jessop and Jesop, which reflect English surname variation around the same biblical name. One 19th-century source also gives it through Italian Giuseppe, but the broader evidence fits a Joseph-name origin more securely.
History
The name appears in English records in several closely related spellings, especially in eastern and central England. A 19th-century note records the Jessup family in Kent and also mentions the name in Essex, with an early clerical bearer at Preston in 1579 and later freeholders in Nottinghamshire. In the United States, Jessup is established but relatively uncommon, and the surname has also been carried by the variant Jesup.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname dictionary explicitly grouped Jessup with Joseph-derived forms, which is why it sits alongside Jessop and Jesup in historical surname lists.
From the historical record
“JEROME. The same as Jeremiah. ' JESSUP. Giuseppe, Italian, the same as Joseph. JETTER. (Fr.) Jeter, to overthrow; Jouieur, a tilter, fencer, a swordsman. JEW. A contraction of Judah, Hebrew. JEWELL. Joy, mirth, precious ; a jewel, a precious stone ; a name expressive of fondness. JEWETT. The little Jew, the son of…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names