Clapper
A surname most likely from a nickname or occupational term connected with a clapper, such as a bell hammer or a mill-clapper.
The #6,822 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,449 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained from Middle English clapper, meaning a clapper or striker — especially the tongue of a bell, or by extension a maker or user of such a device. Some older sources also link it to a nickname sense, from a word for a noisy or lively person, and one source connects it with the bell-hammer meaning directly. The exact derivation may vary by family line, but the core idea is tied to a striking or rattling implement rather than to a place-name.
History
The name appears in historical name lists and surname discussions as an established English surname, but the surviving evidence here is brief and mostly incidental. It is also related to similar English surnames such as Clapp, which some writers treated as a nickname formation. In modern usage it remains uncommon in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical source glosses clapper quite literally as the hammer or tongue inside a bell.
From the historical record
“'^^i™ CmpUTt, ijtq: ibid. p. 161. Matilda Clapper, irja : ibid. p. g. Giiben Cronpsr, oTwhiiloii, imdarrii- man, 1591 : 'frUta at Chaler (1545- i6w), P.4S.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances