Popp
A German surname most likely built from the old personal name Poppo, a medieval pet form used in several Germanic regions.
The #3,973 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,508 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Popp is generally understood as coming from the medieval personal name Poppo, a short or pet form found in Old High German and related Germanic naming traditions. Older writers connect it with forms such as Bopp and Poppe, showing the name’s long-standing use as a family name in German-speaking areas. The exact deeper root is not entirely certain, but the surname itself is usually treated as a descendant of this given name rather than from an occupation or place.
History
Historical surname dictionaries note Popp as a common German family name and link it with medieval forms like Poppo. It appears in German and German-American records, and related spellings such as Poppe and Bopp are also well attested. Because the name is short and old, some 19th-century scholars debated its ultimate origin, but the Poppo connection is the standard explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname scholars treated Popp and Bopp as closely related forms of the same old nickname-based name family.
From the historical record
“Pop- s. Bod (V., zweist. K.). Popp-, Popp- 8. Bod (zweist. K.). PÄrtner s. Pförtner. Portugrall HI. Länder -N. — vielleicht auch von einem Gasthofe („König von Portugal'')”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen