Alpin

Alpin
This very unusual and intriguing name is of early medieval English and occasionally French origins. It is a good example of that sizeable group of medieval surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. These were given in the first instance with reference to a variety of characteristics, including supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition. Alp, Alpe, diminutives Alpin, Alpine, patronymics, Alps Alpes, and others, derive from the Middle English word "alpe", meaning a bullfinch. This was given as a nickname to someone who bore some fancied resemblance to the bird, perhaps favouring bright colours or possessing a sweet singing voice. Other medieval surnames from bird names include Lark, Swan, Nightingale and Hawk. In some few instances of the surname Alp(s), the derivation may be from the Old French "alpe(s)", high mountain, pasture on a mountain-side, and thus a topographical name for someone living on or by such a place. Among the recordings of the name in London are the marriages of Hester Alpe and Thomas Stanton on January 11th 1579 at St. Lawrence Jewry, and of Edward Alp and Dorothy Wilson on February 19th 1698, at Finsbury. In France, Jean Nicolas Alp was christened on April 11th 1869 at Hestroff, Moselle. A coat of arms associated with the name has the blazon of a bluie shield charged with a fesse ermine between three silver alpes. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Matilda Alpe. This was dated 1275, in the "Hundred Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • alpin — alpin …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • alpin — alpin, ine [ alpɛ̃, in ] adj. • déb. XIIIe, repris 1796; lat. alpinus 1 ♦ Des Alpes. ⇒ alpestre. La chaîne alpine. ♢ Troupes alpines, chasseurs alpins : unités militaires chargées de la défense des Alpes, spécialisées dans la guerre de montagnes …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • alpin — ALPÍN, Ă, alpini, e, adj. Care aparţine sau care este caracteristic munţilor Alpi sau, p. ext., regiunilor muntoase înalte; alpestru. – Din fr. alpin, lat. alpinus. Trimis de ana zecheru, 23.07.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  ALPÍN adj. (geogr.) (livr.)… …   Dicționar Român

  • Alpin — may refer to:* Alpin , a weekly supplement of Prothom Alo, a Bangladeshi newspaper *Alpín mac Echdach, two kings of the same name one the father of Cináed mac Ailpín, the other a king of Dál Riata *Siol Alpin, a family of seven Scottish Clans… …   Wikipedia

  • Alpin — (Adjektiv, ‚zu den Alpen gehörig‘ oder ‚den Verhältnissen in den Alpen ähnlich‘) steht: allgemein für einen Zusammenhang mit den Alpen für Bergforschung und erkundung, siehe Alpinismus für eine Vegetationszone des Hochgebirges, siehe Höhenstufe… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alpin II. — Alpin II. (Schottisch Gälisch: Alpin mac Echdach) († vor 841 in Galloway, Schottland) war König von Dalriada von 839 bis 841 (?). Er war der Sohn von Achaius und Urgusia, und Vater von Kenneth I. und Donald I.. Sein Großvater Aed Find war der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • alpin — alpin, ine (al pin, pi n ) adj. Qui croît ou habite ou se trouve sur les Alpes, et, par extension, sur les hautes montagnes. Plantes alpines, prairies alpines, rochers alpins. •   Comme ces plantes alpines dont la racine est plongée dans des… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Alpin — Alpin, 1) König von Schottland, regierte 814–834, wo er von dem Piktenkönig Budo geschlagen, gefangen u. hingerichtet wurde; 2) Prosper, so v.w. Alpini; 3) Pseudonym für Alfred von Seckendorf …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Alpīn — Alpīn, zu den Alpen gehörig, dort vorkommend, alpenhaft. Alpinistik (franz. alpinisme), Alpenkunde, insbes. mit Bezug auf Besteigung (da her Alpinist, Alpenkenner, Bergsteiger) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Alpin — Alpīn, zu den Alpen gehörig, alpenartig …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Alpin — m Scottish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ailpein, a name widely borne in the Highlands from the time of the earliest historical records. It has no obvious Gaelic etymology, and for that reason, if no other, is often taken to be of Pictish origin.… …   First names dictionary

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