Wapping
/ˈwɒp.ɪŋ/noun
A district in East London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames.
Did you know?Wapping’s name likely preserves the Old English collective suffix -ingas, the same naming pattern found in places such as Hastings and Reading.
Etymological Timeline
Early Old English
Old English
Wæppa
“A probable Old English personal name; its exact meaning is uncertain.”
Early medieval period
Old English
Wæppingas
“The people or followers of Wæppa, formed with the collective suffix -ingas.”
13th Century
Middle English
Wappinges
“Recorded place-name form, meaning approximately “of Wæppa’s people” or “Wæppa’s settlement.””
14th–16th Century
English
Wapping
“The developing name of the riverside district east of the Tower of London.”
Modern English
English
Wapping
“A district of East London, historically associated with docks, sailors, executions, and the River Thames.”
Explore more surprising origins