Casper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Casper only became a surname in the late Middle ages. It comes from the personal name Kaspar, which was especially popular in central Europe up to the 18th century. It is thought to derive from the Persian "kaehbaed," or "khazana-dar," which mean "treasure bearer." The name is said to have belonged to one of the three Magi, whose supposed remains were taken from Constantinople to Cologne in the 12th century.
Early Origins of the Casper family
The surname Casper was first found in various parts of the Holy Roman Empire. An early recorded instance of the surname is of a Johann Caspar recorded as being a vicar in Schaffhausen, in 1441. Schaffhausen was a city-state, until joining the Swiss Confederation in 1501. Families of Caspersen were found in Holstein; Caspers, Kespers in Bavaria and the Rhineland; and Kaspareck in the Slavic East.
Early History of the Casper family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Casper research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1571, 1699, 1724 and 1772 are included under the topic Early Casper History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Casper Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Casper, Caspers, Kasper, Kaspar, Kespers and others.
Early Notables of the Casper family
Notables of the time with the name Casper included
- the Caspers family of Bavaria
Casper Ranking
In the United States, the name Casper is the 2,842nd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1
Casper migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Casper Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Christie Casper, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 2
- Valantine Casper, aged 18, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1748 2
- Valentin Casper, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1748 2
- Johann Michael Casper, who arrived in Carolina in 1752 2
- Conrath Casper, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1754 2
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Casper Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Jacob Casper, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1805 2
- George Casper who immigrated to Ohio in 1809
- Nicolas Casper, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1841 2
- Danz Casper, who landed in Galveston Tex in 1845 2
- A Casper, who landed in Mississippi in 1847 2
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Contemporary Notables of the name Casper (post 1700) +
- Colonel, USAF, RET. John H. Casper, NASA Astronaut with over 825 hours in space 3
- William Earl "Billy" Casper (1931-2015), American professional golfer, who won the US Open (1959, 1966) and the Masters (1970) 4
- Gerhard Casper (b. 1937), American (German-born) educator, president of Stanford University 1992-2000
- Albert Casper Schweitzer (1882-1969), American Major League Baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Browns
- Claude Casper Poulan (1915-1995), American founder of Poulan Chain Saws and the inventor of bow guide
- John Casper Branner (1903-1966), U.S. geologist and President of Stanford University
- Casper R. Taylor Jr. (1934-2023), American politician, 105th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2003
- Casper Feddema, American actor, known for Groeten van Gerri and VIPS TV: Reportages (2011)
- Casper M. Sanger, American politician, Presidential Elector for Wisconsin, 1876
- Casper A. Baadan, American politician, Member of New York State Senate 6th District, 1876-77 5
Suggested Readings for the name Casper +
- The American Ancestry of Harriet Matilda Casper Marchant by Barbara S. Stoutner.
Citations +
- "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)
- NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) John Casper. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/casper.html
- William Casper. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) William Casper. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Casper
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html