Show ContentsCopas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Copas family

The surname Copas was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the village and lands of Coppenhall near Crewe, held by William Malbank, a Norman noble, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Copas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Copas research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1535 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Copas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Copas Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Copenhall, Coppenhall, Copenhale, Coppall, Copphall, Cophall, Copnall, Coppnall, Copnel, Copnell, Coppnale, Copnale, Cobbenhall, Cobbnall, Cobnall, Cobhall, Cophall, Copall and many more.

Early Notables of the Copas family

More information is included under the topic Early Copas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Copas Ranking

In the United States, the name Copas is the 14,948th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Copas family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..


Contemporary Notables of the name Copas (post 1700) +

  • Archbishop Virgil Patrick Copas KBE MSC (1915-1993), Australian Archbishop of Kerema and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Air New Zealand Flight 901
  • Miss. Jean Ann Barnett Copas (1933-1979), New Zealander passenger, from Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; she died in the crash 3


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx


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