According to K H Rogers book, "Vikings and Surnames", in which he discusses the origins of surnames, there is a brief reference to Whincup being derived from an early place name Whincop, the name being of Cumberland origin, but more research is needed on this. The Domesday Book has been checked for any reference to a medieval Whincop hamlet, village, settlement or field name, but Cumberland is not well covered. Many hamlets will not have survived the centuries and if Whincop was a field name it may not even be documented. Or it may derive more from a topographical feature rather than a named place. In old English the word “hop” is a type of valley. Little work has been done on the Whincup study of place names. This is worthy of more research and there is plenty of literature about. There is an “English Place Name Society”, and some very good reference works and place-name dictionaries. In one reference book there is mention of a computerised database of place-name material being compiled at the University of Nottingham. A current Ordnance Survey map of Cumberland, shows a hamlet/farmstead named Whincop. Research in local libraries and the record office did not produce any further information. There are no very early Whincup / Whincop parish register references in Cumberland.