The origins of the name ‘Tserpeli’
According to longstanding family tradition, our ancestral surname was originally “Pelis,” with historical roots said to trace back as far as 2000 BC in the region of ancient Calydon (an ancient city state in Aetolia, a region in western Greece). Although there is a long gap in documentation, the name is said to reappear in records from the 12th century, with presence noted in Byzantium, Malta, and Venice.
Family lore also holds that during the Crusades, one of our ancestors was knighted—possibly by Richard the Lionheart—and granted a coat of arms. It is believed that the surname evolved thereafter: first to “Sirpelis,” in reference to the honour, and later to “Tserpelis,” as a result of phonetic and linguistic developments in the Greek language.
In more recent history, a relative, Captain Athanasios Tserpelis, is known to have fought in the Third Siege of Messolonghi during the Greek War of Independence (1824–1826), and his legacy remains an important part of our family heritage.
