An Irish-Canadian poet told me that my last name, Stimpson, comes from glimpse. What is the actual etymology of the proper name and the common noun? Are they related? When did they first appear in the English language?
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2House of Names and Surname Database both say it's a patronymic derived from Stephen. Stimpson probably originated as a spelling in the 16th century.– St John of the CrossMar 21, 2013 at 19:12
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This question appears to be off-topic because it is about a surname and not the English language.– Kit Z. Fox ♦Mar 26, 2014 at 19:45
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Voting to re-open (even though this question needs improvement) because I think closing it is premature given that the relevant discussion on English Language & Usage Meta has not yet reached consensus.– Bradd SzonyeMar 26, 2014 at 22:06
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1 Answer
Did you ask the poet what (according to him) is the language of origin?
I would agree with @St.John about his find in the surname dbs, namely that this is a patronymic based on Stephen.
Also, have a look at this NGram: 
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2Google's Ngrams are case sensitive so it doesn't make sense in this case to mix ALL CAPS with Capital Initials and all lowercase. Be consistent.– HugoMar 21, 2013 at 21:34
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