Origin of the Name Pope
The origin of the name
Pope was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Pope
include Pop, Paip, Pape, Paipe and Popp. This is a surname of nickname origin describing a haughty or self-important person. This name is usually of Anglo-Saxon origin spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland , Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are an Alan le Pope of County Oxfordshire and a Hugh le Pope of County Suffolk, who were both recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England , in the year 1273. A Robert le Pope of County Somerset was recorded in the ancient book 'Kirby's Quest in the reign of Edward III.
In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland , especially during the seventeenth century. It was the 'Plantations of Ireland ' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that marked the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland . While the influx of settlers in the wake of the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.
It has also existed in County Dublin since the sixteenth century and later became prominent in County Waterford.
The Pope coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Pope descendants.