Rampley.net

Genealogy Home for the Rampleys

Origins of the Name

I can't find anything conclusive on the meaning of the name, but it definitely originates from Suffolk in England. The earliest probable trace I have is in Walsham le Willows, Suffolk in the 1283 list of taxpayers, where there is a Walter Rampolye. Walsham is about ten miles from my ancestors' village of Sapiston.
The earliest exact name match I have found so far is from around 1350, where the list of people killed in Walsham by the Black Death included eight Rampleys.

I have come across four speculations regarding the origin of the name Rampley:

• "ram" (the animal) plus the diminutive "ley", the "p" arising naturally as a pronuncuation link between the two
• a type of soldier, specifically a "drawbridge man" ("ramp" rather than "ram")
• French Huguenot origin (perhaps Ramplie)
• Flemish

Let me know if you have any others!

Size and Extent of the Family

The advantage of the name Rampley is that there are so few around! I estimate that there are currently:

• 400 in the UK (mostly England)
• 900 in the USA
• 25 elsewhere in the world

Family Trees

I have collected family trees from all sorts of sources worldwide, dating back as far as about 1450. These trees include the following numbers of Rampleys (not including spouses):

• 1000 in the UK, mostly in 4 major and 5 minor family groups
• 400 in the USA, mostly in 4 family groups

If you would like to see information on your own ancestors, then please send me the information you already know and I will hopefully be able to expand it.

Rampley.net

I now have
1600
Rampleys in family trees.
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