THE FAMILY OF GALPIN
OF
STAFFORDSHIRE @5) DORSET
DERIVATION AND ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF
GALPIN
A NUMBER of derivations have been found for the name
of Galpin, none of which is quite satisfactory. Several
have been taken from a Latin source which is quite improbable.
The best of these is from Galbinus  that is Galbin), a Roman
Senator who lived in the time of Cicero, but the resemblance
is only accidental excepting that, although separated by so
many centuries both may be derived from places with similar
names and meanings. Another Latin derivation is from
galea pevmam, plumed helm (abbreviated to ga/. pen.), which
might be considered satisfactory for heraldic purposes but is
otherwise absurd. There can be no doubt that it is a place
name, as is the case with most names that have no obvious
meaning, the names of places and especially of the natural
features of a country such as mountains and rivers being often
of great antiquity, generally prehistoric and having a Celtic,
Saxon, or other archaic derivation the meaning of which has
become lost.
There is a small village in Belgium, once a part of Gaul,
named Galpen or Galpenberg, and there can be no doubt that
the first possessor of the name came from that village, the name
being “ like many another that seemed to defy all explanation
and is found to be that of some obscure village " (as Barber in
his British Famibv Names remarks). The name is equivalent to
Mount Pleasant or Fair Mount  Vermont), Belmont, Monte—
bello, Schonberg, and occurs in many languages. Gal and Gol
signify beautiful (compare Gold) and pen being hill, as in
B