Copper History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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