Topping
Usually a surname from a place-name idea: someone who lived by the top meadow or high ground.
The #9,496 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,197 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a topographic name meaning “dweller at the top meadow” or on high ground. The first element is Old English topp, influenced by Old Norse topp-r, meaning a top, summit, or peak; the second is the old meadow element found in medieval English place-names. Some 19th-century writers also treated Topping as a spelling variant related to older forms such as Toppin and Toppyn.
History
Historical sources link the name to northern English records, especially around Lancashire and Yorkshire, where related forms appear early. One line of scholarship also connects it with medieval spellings like Toppyn in Preston-area records. Later English spelling varied enough that related forms such as Tipping and Toppin were sometimes discussed alongside it, though those explanations are not always consistent.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In some 19th-century surname books, Topping was grouped with a cluster of similar northern names whose spellings shifted a lot over time, making family lines tricky to trace.
From the historical record
“TOPPIN for Topping, q.v. TOPPING (A.-Scand.) Dweller at the Top Meadow [O.E. topp = O.N. topp-r, a top, summit + O.N.E. ing, OM.eng, ameadow] TOPPLE for Tophill, q.v. TOPLIS TOPLISS TORBART”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)