Name Derivation:
The name,HOPPINGUS, (Hopfields) means “living between two hills and a valley, or “hopping from one to the other”. It also describes someone who lived on raised ground within a marsh.
The Place:
There exists a compete record for the place for the year 1086 (see page 100 in the Doomsday Book).
It is in the Parish of Catherington in the Shire of Hante.
The Doomsday Book was completed at the order of William the Conqueror. It is also a record of Norman plundering of England and confiscation.
Past References to the Family:
It is thought that every person associated to this name is a direct descendant of HOPPINGUS of Catherington, in England.
Note: Some American descendants use the name HOPPIN.
William HOPPING married Alice, the daughter of William PASSMORE, the Mayor or the city of Exeter. She proved her husband’s will in which he bequeathed a legacy to the Rector of St Mary Arches Church. He was ejected from his pulpit for being a non-conformist.
A record of the name was found in the British Museum dated 1327.
No record has yet been found of the HOPPINGs in the 12th and 13th centuries.
It is thought that the family was based in DEVON in the Exeter District. During the war Exeter was badly bombed and a headstone was uncovered as a result. It was that of Charles HOPPING, a clothworker, and was dated 1575.
The last I know of the HOPPING family in England is that they were in HERTFORDSHIRE where they owned a timber business and had tomato farms on an island off the English coast. They also had property in DEVON.