Pippin or Pepin is a given name and surname. It is a masculine given name of Frankish origin with uncertain meaning. The name was borne by various members of the Carolingian family that ruled the Austrasian Empire in the Middle Ages, in what is now France and the western parts of Germany; most notably Pepin the Short, the first Carolingian king of the Franks and father of Charlemagne. Other variations of the name include Pipin, Pépin (French), Pippen, Pepijn (Dutch), Peppino or Pepino (Italian), and Pepe (Spanish).
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Origin
Wider use of the first name Pepin and its derivatives stem from the Carolingian kings. There are various explanations of the meaning of the name:
Derived from the Frankish word bib meaning "to tremble" (compare modern Dutch bibberen, meaning to tremble or shiver), thus it could mean "awe-inspiring".
Dutch sources suggest that the name Pepijn is an infantile corruption of Wilbert or Wilbrecht meaning will and bright, where Wilbert gets shortened into Wilbo which morphed into Pippo and finally into Pepin.
Late-formed examples of the English surname may alternatively be from Old French pepin or pipin ‘seed of a fruit’, and thus a metonymic occupational name for a gardener or grower of fruit trees.
In Spanish and Italian the names Pepe, Pepin and Peppino are a shortening or nickname for José, Jusepe or Giuseppe, which all are names for Joseph. The Frankish name probably comes from a different stem as the historical figures in these languages are called Pipino, not Peppe or Peppino.
People
Carolingians
Pepin of Landen (c. 580–640), nicknamed the Elder, sometimes listed as a saint
Pepin of Herstal (c. 635–714), nicknamed the Middle
Pepin the Short or Pippin the Younger (c. 714–768), father of Charlemagne
Pepin the Hunchback (c. 769 – 811), first son of Charlemagne
Pepin of Italy (777–810), second son of Charlemagne, born Carloman and later named Pepin
Pepin I of Aquitaine (797–838), grandson of Charlemagne, son of Louis the Pious
Pepin II of Aquitaine (823–864), son of Pepin I of Aquitaine
Pepin I, Count of Vermandois (817–850), grandson of Pepin of Italy
Pepin II, Count of Vermandois (845–893), great-grandson of Pepin of Italy
Other people
Clermont Pépin (1926–2006), Canadian pianist, composer and teacher
Ercilia Pepín (1886-1939), teacher, feminist, and equal rights activist in the Dominican Republic.
Jacques Pépin (born 1935), French chef, television personality and writer
Paula Nenette Pepin (1908–1990), French composer, pianist and lyricist
Shiloh Pepin (1999–2009), sirenomelia patient
Théophile Pépin (1826–1904), French mathematician
Victor Pépin (1780–1845), American circus performer and owner
Dan Pippin (1926–1965), American basketball player
Donald Pippin (Broadway director) (1926–2022), American theatrical musical director and conductor
Donald Pippin (opera director) (1926–2021), American pianist, founder of Pocket Opera
Horace Pippin (1888–1946), self-taught African-American painter
Robert B. Pippin (born 1948), American philosopher
Pepín (footballer, born 1931), Spanish footballer, real name José Casas
Ludwig Lachner (1910–2003), German footballer and manager nicknamed "Pipin"
Pippin Drysdale (born 1943), Australian ceramicist and art instructor, Australia's highest earning ceramic artist
Characters
a character in the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
the nickname of Peregrin Took in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
the protagonist of the novel The Short Reign of Pippin IV by John Steinbeck
the yellow dog in a picture book series by K. V. Johansen
the little boy in the BBC children's programme Pogles' Wood
the dog in the BBC children's programme Come Outside
Pippin, an American musical based on Pepin the Hunchback
a mercenary soldier member of the Band of the Hawk in Berserk (manga)