Crispin
A surname that likely began as a patronymic or inherited family name from the medieval personal name Crispin.
The #9,735 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,716 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the medieval given name Crispin, ultimately from Latin Crispinus, a diminutive of crispus, meaning “curly” or “curled.” In medieval England and Normandy, Crispin was used as a personal name and then passed on as a hereditary surname. The name was also reinforced by the cult of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, which helped keep the given name in use.
History
The name appears early in post-Conquest records, especially in Norman and English aristocratic families. Lower connected it with a noble Norman line, while Bardsley treats later English forms such as Crespin and Crips as variants or shortened developments from the same source. The surname survived in several spellings, especially in Devon and other parts of England.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is closely linked to the medieval given name of St. Crispin, patron saint of shoemakers, which helped make the name familiar in the Middle Ages.
From the historical record
“of Crispin. CRISPIN. Grimaldus I., prince of iSIo- naco, married Crispiua, daughter of Eollo, duke of Normandy, and had, besides other children, Crispinus, baron of Bee, who flourished about the year 1000. The next in succession assumed the paternal name by way of surname, and was called Gilbert Crispin, baron of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom