Clapp
A surname most often explained as coming from an old personal name, probably of early Danish or Anglo-Saxon origin.
The #4,088 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,533 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Historical surname writers usually connect Clapp with an early personal name, Clapa or Clap, rather than with the modern English word “clap.” In the sources cited, the name is linked especially to an early Danish bearer, Osgod Clapa, recorded at the court of Canute. In this reading, Clapp originally meant “descendant of Clapa” or “son of Clapa.”
History
19th-century surname scholars placed Clapp mainly in eastern and southern English counties, and also noted related forms such as Clapson, Clapham, and Clapshaw. The name was already established in medieval England, and later spread to North America with English migration. Because the old personal name may have been used by both Danes and Anglo-Saxons, the exact ethnic label is not entirely certain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval Danish noble, Osgod Clapa, is one of the historical figures often cited in discussions of this surname’s origin.
From the historical record
“Bedford, Sussex, Yorkshire, &c. CLAPP. An early Danish surname. Osgod Clapa was a Danisli noble at the court of Canute. From him it is supposed CLA 61 CLE”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom