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Copp History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Sources

Copp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Copp

What does the name Copp mean?

The ancestry of the name Copp dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived on the top of a high hill. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word coppe, for a high hill or promontory. 1 2 3

It was also used as a word for a lookout; a place where an observer could see the landscape for miles around, and therefore be able to warn of an approaching army. As a place-name, it is largely extinct, except for one location; there is a Spying Copp outside of the Liverpool Soccer Stadium is a good place to watch the games for free.

Early Origins of the Copp family

The surname Copp was first found in Hampshire where Eduinus coppa was registered at Winton in 1148. Years later, Robert Coppe was registered in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1192 and Geoffrey Coppe was found in the Curia Regis Rolls for Surrey in 1212. In Warwickshire, Roger de la Coppe was listed there in the Assize Rolls of 1221 and John atte Coppe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1332. 4

Other sources note that the name is generally a name found in southern England in Cornwall 5, Devon and Dorset. 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one listing for that family, that of Roger Coppe who was listed in Dorset. 6 In Somerset, Richard Coppe was listed there 1 Edward III (in the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 7

In Norfolk, we found two entries for the family: John de la Coppe in the Feet of Fines for 1331 and Richard de la Coppe, who was rector of Oxburgh (1 Edward III.) 6

"The Copps have now their home in the Great Torrington district [of Devon]. Coppe was a common name in Littleham, Exmouth, in the 17th century (Webb), and even now the name is not uncommon in the town." 8

Early History of the Copp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Copp research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1619 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Copp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Copp Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Copp have been found, including Copp, Coppe, Copps, Coppes, Cop, Cops and others.

Early Notables of the Copp family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Abiezer Coppe (1619-1672), an English Ranters and a writer of prophetic religious pamphlets...
He was born at Warwick on 30 May 1619 and was the son of Walter Coppe9...

Copp Ranking

In the United States, the name Copp is the 14,666^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 10

Copp migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Copp, or a variant listed above:

Copp Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Copp of Providence, Rhode Island, who arrived in the sailing ship "Blessing". He and his two sons Richard and William Copp were shoemakers and later moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1630. Part of his estate in Boston was known as Copp Hill
William Copp, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1635-1640 11

Copp Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jonathan Copp, who landed in Georgia in 1750-1751 11

Copp Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

David Copp, aged 60, who landed in Maine in 1812 11
Mr. Copp, who settled in New York in 1820
George Copp, who settled in Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Andacia"
Mr. George W. Copp, aged 22, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Andaira Valley"
David Copp settled in San Francisco, California in 1850
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Copp Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. Samuel Copp, (b. 1876), aged 28, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 19th June 1904 en route to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 12

Copp migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Copp Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Copp, (b. 1832), aged 21, English carpenter and sawyer, from Devonshire, England, UK travelling aboard the ship "Parsee" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 11th January 1853 13
Mrs. Marianne Copp, (b. 1825), aged 28, Cornish settler, from Launceston, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Parsee" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 11th January 1853 13

Contemporary Notables of the name Copp (post 1700) +

Rick Copp, American television writer, story editor, producer and occasional actor
Harley F. Copp (1922-1991), American car designer
Jordan Lee Copp (b. 1993), English football midfielder
Albert James Smith Copp (1866-1912), Canadian politician, Member of the Canada Parliament for Digby, Nova Scotia (1896-1908)
Robert Alonzo "Bobby" Copp (1918-2006), Canadian ice hockey defenceman
Arthur Bliss Copp (1870-1949), Canadian politician
Frank Hubert Copp (1881-1959), Canadian manufacturer and politician who represented Westmorland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick (1935-1948)
Terry Copp, Canadian military historian and Professor Emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University
Douglas Harold Copp CC, FRSC (1915-1998), Canadian Physiologist who discovered and named the hormone calcitonin
Stanley Copp (1915-1987), Canadian politician in Manitoba, serving the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal-Progressive from 1953 to 1958

Sources +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_1850_59.pdf