COOPER Surname Meaning and Family History

COOPER Surname Meaning and Family History The surname Cooper is an English occupational name for one who made and sold casks, buckets and tubs. The name derives from the Middle English couper, cowper, adapted from Middle Dutch kuper, a derivative of kup, meaning tub or container. Cooper may also be an Anglicized version of a similar sounding surname such as the Dutch Kuiper, or the Jewish Kupfer or Kupper. Origin and Popularity of COOPER Cooper is the 64th most popular surname in the United States and the 29th most common surname in England. The prevalence of the surname  is due to the cooper trades importance during the  Middle Ages throughout Europe.   As a Dutch surname, Cooper may have originated as an  occupational name for a buyer or merchant, from the Middle Dutch coper. Surname Origin:  English, Dutch Alternate Surname Spellings:  KOOPER, KOEPER, KUPFER, COOPERS, COOPERMAN, COPER, COOBER, COOPEY, COPPER Famous People With the COOPER Surname James Fenimore Cooper - 19th-century American novelistGary Cooper - American actor of the silent film eraMartin Cooper - American engineer who conceived the first mobile cellular phonePeter Cooper - American industrialist and inventor; best known for designing and building the first steam locomotive in the United StatesJackie Cooper - American  actor, director and producerBradley Cooper - American actor Where Is the COOPER Surname Most Common? Forebears identifies Cooper as the 927th most common surname in the world, with the greatest numbers of individuals with the name living in the United States, where the name ranks 61st. Based on surname density, Cooper is also a very common last name in England (where it ranks 35th in the country), Liberia (4th), Australia (43rd), New Zealand (37th) and Wales (67th). While the Cooper surname  is very common throughout the United Kingdom, WorldNames PublicProfiler shows it as most common in central England, especially in Staffordshire. Genealogy Resources for the Surname COOPER 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? Cooper Genealogy DNA ProjectThe  Cooper DNA group project was begun in 2002 by Gary S. Cooper of Lexington, North Carolina, as a tool to use in conjunction with other written documentation in genealogy research to help identify and define different Cooper-Lines and validate existing Cooper family history. Cooper  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Cooper  family crest or coat of arms for the Cooper surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Cooper Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Cooper surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Cooper query. FamilySearchExplore over 6.7  million  historical records which mention individuals with the Cooper  surname, as well as online Cooper family trees on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. COOPER Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Cooper surname. GeneaNet - Cooper  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Cooper  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Cooper  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse family trees and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the last name Cooper  from the website of Genealogy Today. References Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.