Cople History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Cople comes from when the family resided in Copley Plain in Loughton, which was in Essex; in Copley Hill in Babraham, which was found in Cambridgeshire; or in Copley in Halifax, which was in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Thus, the surname Cople belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Cople family

The surname Cople was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Copley. Another branch of the family was later found at Sprotborough. "The manor subsequently became the property of the Copley family, of whom Sir Godfrey built the present spacious mansion in the reign of Charles II., and whose descendant Sir Joseph Copley, Bart., is now lord." 1

"The manor [of Batley in the West Riding of Yorkshire] was for eighteen generations held by the Copley family." 1

Early History of the Cople family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cople research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1534, 1567, 1575, 1577, 1582, 1584, 1590, 1603, 1604, 1607, 1611, 1623, 1648, 1653, 1661, 1662, 1677, 1678, 1679, 1681, 1684, 1685, 1691, 1692, 1693, 1695, 1707 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Cople History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cople Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Cople has been recorded under many different variations, including Copley, Coppley, Copply, Coply and others.

Early Notables of the Cople family

Notables of the family at this time include

Thomas Copley of Bedingfield
Anthony Copley (1567-1607), English, Catholic supporter of Queen Elizabeth, known for his disapproval of the Jesuit meditations on martyrdom
Sir Lionel Copley (1648-1693), who arrived in America in 1692 to become the 1st Royal Governor of Maryland (1692 until his death)
Sir Godfrey Copley, 1st Baronet (1623-1677), High Sheriff of Yorkshire

Migration of the Cople family to Ireland

Some of the Cople family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cople migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Cople or a variant listed above:

Cople Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Cople, who arrived in Virginia in 1670 2

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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)