NameCensus.

UK surname

Cope

An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of cloaks, or a nickname for someone who wore a cloak.

In the 1881 census there were 6,760 people recorded with the Cope surname, ranking it #626 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 8,663, ranked #760, down from #626 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolstanton, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Staffordshire Moorlands, Cheshire East and Stoke-on-Trent.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cope is 9,395 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 28.2%.

1881 census count

6,760

Ranked #626

Modern count

8,663

2016, ranked #760

Peak year

1999

9,395 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cope had 6,760 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #626 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 8,663 in 2016, ranked #760.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 9,372 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cope surname distribution map

The map shows where the Cope surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Cope surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cope over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 4,267 #662
1861 historical 4,231 #666
1881 historical 6,760 #626
1891 historical 7,225 #623
1901 historical 8,531 #627
1911 historical 9,372 #523
1997 modern 8,598 #732
1998 modern 9,354 #702
1999 modern 9,395 #702
2000 modern 9,237 #711
2001 modern 9,034 #713
2002 modern 9,293 #708
2003 modern 8,955 #719
2004 modern 8,927 #722
2005 modern 8,721 #727
2006 modern 8,717 #731
2007 modern 8,780 #732
2008 modern 8,804 #736
2009 modern 8,962 #739
2010 modern 9,074 #745
2011 modern 9,025 #739
2012 modern 8,742 #745
2013 modern 8,873 #748
2014 modern 8,855 #753
2015 modern 8,743 #754
2016 modern 8,663 #760

Geography

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Where Copes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolstanton, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, London parishes and St Werburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Staffordshire Moorlands, Cheshire East and Stoke-on-Trent. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Wolstanton Staffordshire
2 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Werburgh Derbyshire
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Staffordshire Moorlands 010 Staffordshire Moorlands
2 Staffordshire Moorlands 007 Staffordshire Moorlands
3 Cheshire East 045 Cheshire East
4 Staffordshire Moorlands 006 Staffordshire Moorlands
5 Stoke-on-Trent 020 Stoke-on-Trent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cope

These lists show first names that appear often with the Cope surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cope

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cope, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Cope surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cope household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Cope is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cope is most concentrated in decile 7 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cope falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cope is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Cope, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Cope

The surname Cope is an English name that originated in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'copp', meaning a hill or a summit. The name is believed to have first emerged in areas around the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire, where many small villages and hamlets were named after these landscape features.

One of the earliest records of the name Cope can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as 'Copes' and 'Coppe'. This suggests that the name had already been in use for some time before the Norman Conquest.

During the Middle Ages, the name Cope was commonly associated with people who lived near or worked on hilltops or elevated areas. In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms such as 'atte Cope', 'de la Cope', and 'de Copes', indicating that it was often used as a descriptive name for someone's place of residence or occupation.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Cope was William Cope, a prominent merchant and landowner who lived in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Sir Walter Cope (c. 1460-1554), a courtier and military commander who served under King Henry VIII and was granted lands in Gloucestershire.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cope family became well-established in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire. Sir Anthony Cope (1548-1614) was a Member of Parliament and a significant landowner in Oxfordshire, while Sir John Cope (1672-1749) was a renowned military commander who fought in the War of the Spanish Succession and the Jacobite Rising.

Other notable individuals with the surname Cope include Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1897), an American paleontologist and anatomist who made significant contributions to the study of dinosaurs and evolutionary theory, and Sir Vincent Cope (1889-1966), a British politician and diplomat who served as the Governor of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) from 1938 to 1944.

The Cope surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Cope Green in Gloucestershire, Cope Hill in Nottinghamshire, and Cope's Ash in Worcestershire, further highlighting its connection to the Old English word 'copp' and its geographical origins.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cope families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cope surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Staffordshire leads with 1,823 Copes recorded in 1881 and an index of 8.18x.

County Total Index
Staffordshire 1,823 8.18x
Warwickshire 626 3.76x
Middlesex 610 0.92x
Lancashire 493 0.63x
Derbyshire 439 4.25x
Cheshire 347 2.38x
Nottinghamshire 317 3.56x
Yorkshire 265 0.40x
Surrey 262 0.81x
Worcestershire 250 2.90x
Kent 162 0.72x
Lincolnshire 113 1.07x
Leicestershire 107 1.46x
Shropshire 105 1.84x
Bedfordshire 80 2.34x
Berkshire 67 1.35x
Essex 67 0.51x
Wiltshire 64 1.10x
Gloucestershire 61 0.47x
Durham 52 0.26x
Hampshire 52 0.38x
Northamptonshire 52 0.84x
Oxfordshire 44 1.08x
Somerset 41 0.39x
Glamorgan 40 0.35x
Huntingdonshire 32 2.44x
Hertfordshire 24 0.53x
Monmouthshire 21 0.44x
Herefordshire 18 0.66x
Sussex 18 0.16x
Buckinghamshire 15 0.38x
Devon 15 0.11x
Cambridgeshire 12 0.29x
Cumberland 9 0.16x
Flintshire 9 0.51x
Denbighshire 8 0.32x
Lanarkshire 7 0.03x
Midlothian 7 0.08x
Rutland 6 1.24x
Cornwall 5 0.07x
Suffolk 4 0.05x
Caernarfonshire 3 0.11x
Norfolk 3 0.03x
Royal Navy 3 0.38x
Angus 2 0.03x
Carmarthenshire 2 0.07x
Isle of Man 2 0.16x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.02x
Channel Islands 1 0.05x
Dorset 1 0.02x
Nairnshire 1 0.50x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.05x
Renfrewshire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Stoke Upon Trent in Staffordshire leads with 328 Copes recorded in 1881 and an index of 13.88x.

Place Total Index
Stoke Upon Trent 328 13.88x
Aston 209 4.56x
Birmingham 169 3.04x
Wolstanton 89 13.15x
St Pancras London 88 1.66x
Nottingham St Mary 86 3.74x
Walsall Foreign 85 7.38x
Islington London 84 1.31x
Leek Lowe 72 24.28x
Hackney London 70 1.89x
Lambeth 70 1.22x
Burslem 66 10.34x
Kidderminster Borough 58 11.49x
Spondon 58 145.77x
Kings Norton 48 6.21x
Monks Coppenhall 46 8.36x
Polesworth 46 58.17x
Trentham 46 24.26x
Wednesfield 46 14.02x
Newington 45 1.84x
Wolverhampton 44 2.57x
Cannock 42 10.80x
Audley 41 18.59x
Rowley Regis 41 6.60x
Alfreton 39 12.42x
Camberwell 39 0.92x
Rugeley 39 24.38x
Snenton 38 10.87x
Stone 38 13.33x
Leeds 36 0.97x
Newton Regis 34 334.32x
Hulme 33 2.02x
Kensington London 33 0.90x
Tipton 33 4.83x
Derby St Werburgh 31 5.19x
Dudley 31 2.96x
Ilkeston 31 10.69x
West Bromwich 31 2.43x
Odd Rode 30 41.55x
St George Hanover Square 30 2.58x
Walcot 30 5.30x
Lenton 29 13.83x
Liverpool 29 0.61x
Wybunbury 29 215.61x
Everton 28 1.12x
Norton In Moors 28 23.73x
Rocester 28 101.38x
Ipstones 27 84.30x
Macclesfield 27 4.17x
Toxteth Park 27 1.02x
Derby St Alkmund 26 8.39x
Tamworth 26 21.81x
Shrewsbury St Julian 25 17.71x
Wednesbury 25 4.49x
Oldham 24 0.95x
Salford 24 1.04x
Cheadle 23 21.48x
Sandy 23 38.15x
Sutton Coldfield 23 13.14x
Tempsford 23 190.24x
Tottenham 23 2.19x
Uttoxeter 23 20.15x
Bermondsey 22 1.12x
Bridlington 22 14.68x
Checkley 22 38.00x
Leicester St Margaret 22 1.23x
Sedgley 22 2.66x
Willenhall 22 5.27x
Congleton 21 8.34x
Lichfield St Chad 21 41.88x
Manchester 21 0.60x
West Ham 21 0.73x
Basford 20 4.87x
Chadderton 20 5.22x
Deptford St Paul 20 1.15x
Heaton Norris 20 4.48x
Wollescote 20 28.79x
Dagenham 19 24.49x
Newark Upon Trent 19 5.94x
Shoreditch London 19 0.66x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Cope surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 470
Sarah 293
Elizabeth 256
Ann 189
Eliza 118
Annie 110
Emma 110
Jane 103
Alice 99
Hannah 87
Ellen 85
Martha 79
Emily 63
Harriet 52
Fanny 49
Clara 45
Louisa 45
Catherine 44
Maria 44
Florence 42
Caroline 41
Edith 40
Lucy 35
Ada 34
Margaret 33
Charlotte 30
Frances 26
Anne 25
Harriett 25
Amelia 24
Susan 22
Esther 19
Kate 18
Agnes 15
Matilda 15
Bertha 14
Eleanor 14
Elizth. 14
Rachel 14
Amy 13
Henrietta 13
Jessie 13
Julia 13
Minnie 12
Sophia 12
Betsy 11
Ethel 11
Rose 11
Rosa 10
Susannah 10

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Cope surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 404
John 366
Thomas 247
George 231
James 189
Charles 161
Joseph 148
Henry 129
Samuel 96
Arthur 89
Alfred 84
Edward 83
Frederick 77
Albert 54
Richard 47
Herbert 43
Harry 42
Robert 39
Walter 39
Edwin 35
Francis 32
Frank 27
Ernest 24
Wm. 23
David 20
Benjamin 19
Thos. 18
Isaac 15
Enoch 10
Tom 10
Elijah 9
Matthew 9
Peter 9
Sidney 9
Daniel 8
Frederic 8
Geo. 8
Percy 8
Ralph 8
Jesse 7
Philip 7
Sydney 7
Willm. 7
Abraham 6
Adam 6
Chas. 6
Frances 6
Fredrick 6
Stephen 6
Fred 5

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Cope households.

FAQ

Cope surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cope surname in 1881?

In 1881, 6,760 people were recorded with the Cope surname. That placed it at #626 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cope surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 8,663 in 2016. That gives Cope a modern rank of #760.

What does the Cope surname mean?

An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of cloaks, or a nickname for someone who wore a cloak.

What does the Cope map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cope bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.