Stamp
An occupational surname for a maker or user of stamps, dies, or coin dies, and sometimes for someone known as a pounder or printer.
The #9,884 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,389 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stamp is generally explained as an occupational surname from Middle English stampe/stampen, meaning to stamp, pound, or strike. Related historical forms could refer to someone who worked with a stamp or die, especially a moneyer or coiner, or more broadly to a pounder, printer, or one who used a stamping tool. The deeper root is the Germanic verb found in Old English stempan, with influence from related continental forms used in medieval craft and coinage terms.
History
The surname appears in English records in forms such as Stamp, Stampe, and Stamper, with several medieval occupational senses attached to it. Some 19th-century writers also connected it with the making of coins or coin dies, which may explain occasional confusion with similar names like Conner/Cunner in older sources. Today it is a fairly uncommon surname in the United States and Britain, and it is also found in related continental forms such as Dutch and German names that look similar.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname books, Stamp was sometimes grouped with names connected to coin-making, because a stamp was an essential tool in minting.
From the historical record
“STAMPER (Eng.) Pounder; Thrasher; Printer; Minter [M.E. stamper{e\ i. M.E. stampen, O.E. stempan, to stamp, pound] John Stamper. — Hund. Rolls. STANANOUGHT (Eng.) app. for 'Stand-at-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Stamp
- Terence Stamp (1938–2025)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.