LAPTIN - Seaton and Beer

[Janmay]

Researching my tree I have found an ancestor, Elizabeth Laptin b 1764 Seaton and Beer. This lady intrigues me because of her Laptin surname.

Laptin seems to originate in the Beer area and I have been wondering about it's origin and the spelling which can vary --- Lapton, Lapten and Lapting are also on the IGI for the Seaton and Beer family.
 
Considering Seaton and Beer are on the coast in East Devon and have  fishing, and smuggling, connections to the continent--
how did he get here 
where did he come from 
and
Is the name a corruption of a foreign name explaining the variation in spelling ?

[nika]

Don't know where it comes from but there are Laptin's still living in Beer. Folklore intimates that many "old" Beer families were spaniards.
Nika