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 pronunciation 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!

Extent

SIZE AND EXTENT OF THE NAME

The advantage of the name Rampley is that there are so few around! Based on some old research I did I estimate that there are currently about:

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

FAMILY TREES

I have collected family tree information from all sorts of sources worldwide, dating back as far as about 1450. These family 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.