Updated August 15, 2024 Share: Table of contents Family name origins & meanings English : nickname for a clever or cunning person, from Middle English yap ‘devious’, ‘deceitful’, ‘bent’; ‘shrewd’. Americanized spelling of North German Japp. Chinese : variant of Ye. Filipino : unexplained. Appears on 150 Evil Names for Boys with Villainous Meanings Malaysian Surnames and Meanings