Kipp
A surname with several possible origins, including a German word for a steep place and a possible nickname source in older English records.
The #5,788 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,647 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Kipp is not securely explained by the historical sources. One 19th-century dictionary connects it with German kipp, referring to a place on or near a precipice or steep edge, while another source suggests an English form may be related to Gipp or to older baptismal forms. Because the evidence points in more than one direction, the safest view is that Kipp can be either a German topographic surname or an English surname that developed from a shorter personal-name form.
History
The name appears in English records in forms such as Kipp and Kipps, and it is also found in German surname lists. In Britain, some early instances may reflect local or nickname-based origins rather than one single family line. In the United States, the surname is uncommon but established, likely reflecting both immigration from German-speaking regions and English-family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century source even glossed German kipp as a place “on or near a precipice,” showing how vividly these old surname glosses could describe the landscape.
From the historical record
“name descended to his posterity. KIPP. Kippe, in the German, denotes a situation on or near a precipice, l&p, Dutch, a hen, a chicken. KIRBY. Local. The name of several small towns in Englandr whence the surname is derived; so called from Kirk, a church, and by, a village or town. KIRK. (Teut.) Kirche, a church.…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names