CRIPPEN
Crippen is a surname of English origin. Its earliest linguistic roots lie in the Old English word cryppan, which meant “to bend” or “to crook”. The name was likely originally a nickname for a person with a physical deformity or a bent gait, and over time it became hereditary and passed down through generations.
The name has close ties to the medieval personal name Crispin, derived from the Old English word crisp, meaning “curly”. Crispin was a popular given name in Norman England, and several early bearers adopted it as a surname. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the first appearance of the name as Milo Crispinus, while later documentary evidence from the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire (1166) and Devonshire (1169) contains entries such as Turstin Crispin and Ralph Crespin.
Variants of the surname have evolved over time, including Crispin, Crepin, Crippen, Chrispin, Cribben and Crippin. Some regional records also reflect spellings like Cripping and Crippenson. In modern usage the surname can occasionally be found with an additional prefix, for example McCrippen, though this form is less common.
Despite the notoriety of the nineteenth century American eye-specialist Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was executed in London in 1910, the surname itself carries no intrinsically negative connotations. In contemporary society it is regarded as an ordinary family name.
Distribution of the surname today is sparse on the continent of Europe but more widespread in English speaking countries. In the United States, the name is found in several states, notably California, Michigan and Texas; it is also represented in Canada, Australia and Germany, though in comparatively small numbers. The surname remains uncommon in the United Kingdom, with occasional concentrations in Cornwall and adjacent counties.
Typical given names associated with the Crippen surname
Male
- Douglas
- Stuart
- Thomas
Female
- Camilla
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Crippen in...
Braille
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Morse
-.-..-....--..--..-.
Semaphore
There are approximately 79 people named Crippen in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around one in a million people in Britain are named Crippen.
