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The name is Germanic and of disputed meaning. It is most likely derived from a Germanic element bib- meaning “to tremble,” which formed an etymological basis for the Late Latin nickname, pippinus (little child). This same root is related to the modern French word, pépin, which means “seed” or “pulp” in French, but also a “glitch” in modern French slang.
This was a name that appeared among the Carolingian rulers of the Franks. It was most notably borne by King Pepin the Short (8th-century CE), father of Charlemagne, as well as Pepin of Landen, an ancestor, who was revered as a saint in Belgium (6th-century CE).
Pépin appeared in the French Top 500 between 1902-1945, peaking at #358 in 1942.
Its Dutch form of Pepijn (PEP-pine) currently appears in Netherlands’ Top 100, coming in as the 64th most popular male name in the Netherlands (2019).
Forms and usages in other languages are as follows:
- Pepyn (Afrikaans, Frisian)
- Pippin (Alemmanish, English, Estonian, German, Letzburgerish, Swedish)
- Pepín (Aragonese)
- Pipí (Catalan)
- Pepin (Czech, English, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Walloon)
- Pipin (Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian)
- Pepijn, Pippijn (Dutch)
- Pépin (French, Gaelic)
- Pipino (Italian, Spanish)
- Pêpenê (Kurdish)
- Pippinus (Late Latin)
- Pepinas, Pipinas (Lithuanian)
- Pepino (Portuguese)
Sources