Copper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The Copper name was an occupational name given to a maker or repairer of barrels, casks, and buckets. It comes from the Middle English word "couper," or "cowper." It was a trade highly valued in the Middle Ages, as the construction or waterproof containers was no easy task with the tools of the time.

Early Origins of the Copper family

The surname Copper was first found in Sussex but the name is "distributed over the greater part of England, but rare or absent in the northern and south - western counties. It seems to have three principal centres, one in the northern midlands, including Cheshire, another in Sussex and Hants, and a third in Suffolk. The counties especially notable for Coopers are Cheshire, Derbyshire, Hants, Leicestershire and Rutland, Notts, Suffolk, Sussex, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire." 1

The Pipe Rolls include some of the earliest records of the family: Robert (le) Cupere for Surrey (1176-7); ? le Cupers, Norfolk in 1181-2. 2

Early History of the Copper family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Copper research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1552, 1586, 1606, 1608, 1609, 1610, 1621, 1626, 1627, 1631, 1659, 1660, 1672, 1683, 1689, 1731, 1797, 1800 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Copper History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Copper Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cooper, Cowper, Couper, Coupar and others.

Early Notables of the Copper family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Sir John Cooper (1552-1610), English politician, Member of Parliament for Whitchurch in 1586; Sir John Cooper, 1st Baronet (died 1631), an English landowner and politician; Samuel Cooper (1609-1672), an English miniature painter; Alexander Cooper (1609-1660), an English Baroque miniature painter; Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC (1621-1683), an English politician during the Interregnum, a founder of the Whig...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Copper Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Copper Ranking

In the United States, the name Copper is the 6,270^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Copper family to Ireland

Some of the Copper family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 87 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Copper migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Copper Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Frank Copper, who landed in Mississippi in 1873 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Copper (post 1700) +

Basil Copper (1924-2013), English writer, journalist and newspaper editor
Gerrit Copper (1953-2020), Dutch magician, three times Dutch national champion

Citations +

Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)