Tharp
An English surname most often traced to Thorpe/Torp, meaning someone who lived at or came from a small settlement or outlying hamlet.
The #2,619 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,443 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Tharp is generally treated as a reduced or altered form of Thorpe, also spelled Torp and related variants. The underlying place-word comes from Old Norse and Old English usage for a small settlement, outlying hamlet, or farmstead. In that sense, the name originally meant someone identified by residence in or near such a place.
History
19th-century surname writers often explain Tharp as a corruption of Thorpe, and one source connects it with early forms such as de Torp or Torpes in medieval records. The name appears to have developed as a local or habitational surname in England and later spread in English-speaking countries, especially through emigration. Modern bearers are most common in the United States, where the spelling has become established as a separate family name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname dictionaries group Tharp directly under Thorpe, showing how a single medieval place-name could produce several later spellings.
From the historical record
“entrail 1) THARP = Thopp, q.v. THATCHER, th6 palatal form of Thacker, q.v. When thatchers thinke, their virages worth their worke. — G. Gascoigne, Steele Glas (A.D. 1376). THAXTER, V. Thackster. THAYER (A.-Fr.-Teut.)represents an O.Frank,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)