According to tradition, this name was given to Lord Howard's fifth son, at the siege of Boulogne. King Henry V. being there, asked how they took the town and castle. Howard answered, "I tripp'd up the walls." Saith his majesty, "Tripp shall be thy name, and no longer Howard," and honored him with a scaling-ladder for his coat of arms. This tradition, as well as many others I have given, is not very probable, but I give them insertion because they are curious and amusing, and some of them may be founded on actual occurrences.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

TRIPP. The family trace by deeds to temp. Hen. VIII. in co. Somerset ; but tradition derives them from the illustrious race of Howard, and accounts for the name, and the " scaling ladder" in their arms, by the following wretched little anecdote, inscribed beneath an old family ' achievement ' : —

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.