NameCensus.

UK surname

Cropper

An occupational surname referring to someone who harvested or gathered crops.

In the 1881 census there were 1,810 people recorded with the Cropper surname, ranking it #2,405 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,980, ranked #3,249, down from #2,405 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Rochdale, North Meols and Liverpool. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Rossendale, West Lancashire and Flintshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cropper is 2,520 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 9.4%.

1881 census count

1,810

Ranked #2,405

Modern count

1,980

2016, ranked #3,249

Peak year

1911

2,520 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cropper had 1,810 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,405 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,980 in 2016, ranked #3,249.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,520 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living.

Cropper surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cropper surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Cropper 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 1,176 #2,406
1861 historical 1,143 #2,459
1881 historical 1,810 #2,405
1891 historical 2,143 #2,171
1901 historical 2,262 #2,394
1911 historical 2,520 #2,032
1997 modern 2,080 #2,952
1998 modern 2,102 #3,036
1999 modern 2,105 #3,056
2000 modern 2,086 #3,064
2001 modern 2,043 #3,057
2002 modern 2,060 #3,097
2003 modern 2,006 #3,110
2004 modern 1,957 #3,170
2005 modern 1,983 #3,112
2006 modern 1,967 #3,140
2007 modern 1,952 #3,188
2008 modern 1,953 #3,200
2009 modern 1,990 #3,224
2010 modern 2,052 #3,206
2011 modern 2,023 #3,210
2012 modern 1,949 #3,250
2013 modern 2,009 #3,226
2014 modern 2,030 #3,229
2015 modern 2,025 #3,205
2016 modern 1,980 #3,249

Geography

Back to top

Where Croppers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Rochdale, North Meols, Liverpool, Bury (Walmersley and Tottington, Heap),Middleton (Birtle with Bamford, Pilsworth) and Whalley. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Rossendale, West Lancashire, Flintshire, Rochdale and Wyre. 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 Rochdale Lancashire
2 North Meols Lancashire
3 Liverpool Lancashire
4 Bury (Walmersley and Tottington, Heap),Middleton (Birtle with Bamford, Pilsworth) Lancashire
5 Whalley Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Rossendale 001 Rossendale
2 West Lancashire 001 West Lancashire
3 Flintshire 017 Flintshire
4 Rochdale 017 Rochdale
5 Wyre 001 Wyre

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Cropper

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Cropper

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cropper, 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

Inner Suburbs and Small Town Living

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

Read profile summary

Group profile

Families with resident dependent children (but not students) are common. Established family groups and White ethnicity predominate, as do individuals born in the UK. They are more likely than the Supergroup average to have been resident in their terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses for more than one year. Levels of multiple car ownership are high. Properties are owned and typically have surplus living space. Associate professionals and administrative occupations are prevalent, and parents are likely to be in middle age or approaching retirement. Educational attainment is above the Supergroup average. Scattered developments and concentrations are found in many small towns.

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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Cropper is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cropper is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

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

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cropper falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cropper 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 Cropper, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Cropper

The surname Cropper is an English occupational name derived from the Old English word "crop" or "cropp," meaning "harvest" or "top of a plant." It was originally given to someone who worked as a crop gatherer or harvester.

This name is believed to have originated in the northern counties of England, particularly in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where agriculture and crop harvesting were prevalent. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a Robert le Croper was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1285.

The Cropper surname can be traced back to various place names in England, such as Cropper's Hill in Cheshire and Cropper's Green in Lancashire. The spelling variations of the name included Croper, Cropper, Croppur, and Croppere.

One notable historical figure bearing this surname was Sir John Cropper (1588-1645), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1637. He was a wealthy member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers and played a significant role in the English Civil War.

Another prominent individual with this surname was James Cropper (1773-1840), a British businessman and philanthropist from Westmorland. He was a pioneering paper manufacturer and an advocate for social reforms, particularly in the abolition of slavery and the promotion of education.

In literature, the name Cropper is associated with the character Mrs. Cropper, a housekeeper in the novel "Cranford" by Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1853. This fictional character exemplified the pragmatic and hardworking nature often associated with the Cropper surname.

Other notable individuals with the Cropper surname include John Cropper (1756-1821), a British industrialist and inventor who improved the process of calico printing, and William Cropper (1711-1781), an English clockmaker and mathematician known for his contributions to timekeeping and navigation.

While the Cropper surname originated in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, through immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Cropper families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cropper 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. Lancashire leads with 1,186 Croppers recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.68x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 1,186 5.68x
Yorkshire 184 1.06x
Derbyshire 84 3.05x
Cheshire 73 1.88x
Nottinghamshire 54 2.28x
Middlesex 39 0.22x
Surrey 38 0.44x
Lincolnshire 32 1.14x
Worcestershire 18 0.78x
Midlothian 17 0.72x
Leicestershire 11 0.56x
Warwickshire 9 0.20x
Flintshire 8 1.69x
Westmorland 8 2.07x
Staffordshire 7 0.12x
Devon 5 0.14x
Essex 5 0.14x
Norfolk 5 0.18x
Lanarkshire 4 0.07x
Hampshire 3 0.08x
Herefordshire 3 0.42x
Bedfordshire 2 0.22x
Dorset 2 0.17x
Kent 2 0.03x
Northamptonshire 2 0.12x
Gloucestershire 1 0.03x
Hertfordshire 1 0.08x
Somerset 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Newchurch in Lancashire leads with 152 Croppers recorded in 1881 and an index of 88.98x.

Place Total Index
Newchurch 152 88.98x
Ashton Under Lyne 129 28.27x
North Meols 85 41.58x
Spotland 57 24.55x
Liverpool 48 3.78x
Higher Booths 38 100.96x
Everton 33 4.96x
Heap 33 29.80x
Wardleworth 32 26.82x
Wuerdle Wardle 31 48.90x
Leeds 30 3.05x
Manchester 28 2.98x
Castleton 27 12.95x
Brimington 26 124.28x
Scarisbrick 24 99.01x
West Derby 24 3.93x
Droylsden 23 33.76x
Little Bolton 23 8.57x
Aughton 22 106.38x
Oldham 22 3.26x
Bickerstaffe 21 153.62x
Nottingham St Mary 20 3.26x
Maghull 19 219.40x
Bootle Cum Linacre 18 10.85x
Brightside Bierlow 17 4.97x
Sheffield 17 3.06x
Stansfield 17 26.49x
Bury 15 6.29x
Ecclesall Bierlow 15 4.23x
Toxteth Park 15 2.12x
Kirkdale 14 3.99x
Dukinfield 13 7.24x
Sutton 13 18.56x
Tranmere 13 9.11x
Great Crosby 12 21.08x
Pendleton In Salford 12 4.82x
Runcorn 11 12.28x
Salford 11 1.79x
Barton Upon Irwell 10 6.36x
Chelsea London 10 1.89x
Habergham Eaves 10 5.24x
Hackney London 10 1.01x
Rawmarsh 10 16.23x
Birkdale 9 17.04x
Birkenhead 9 2.91x
Camberwell 9 0.80x
Euxton 9 129.87x
Lambeth 9 0.59x
Newbold Dunston 9 34.36x
Blackburn 8 1.44x
Chesterfield 8 7.75x
Downholland 8 276.82x
Edinburgh Greenside 8 25.68x
Ormskirk 8 20.02x
Saddleworth 8 5.95x
St Nicholas Lincoln 8 29.74x
Carshalton 7 21.34x
Dewsbury 7 3.91x
Dudley 7 2.51x
Elmton 7 224.36x
Halifax 7 2.73x
Hesketh Cum Becconsall 7 134.10x
Hipperholme Cum 7 9.14x
Mansfield 7 8.53x
Newton 7 116.28x
Poulton Cum Seacombe 7 15.67x
Radcliffe 7 6.95x
Rainford 7 31.00x
Royton 7 10.96x
Sculcoates 7 2.53x
Stockport 7 3.50x
Tottington Higher End 7 29.45x
Unstone 7 64.64x
Whitwell 7 63.87x
Eccleston In Prescot 6 5.72x
Elton 6 8.32x
Openshaw 6 6.14x
Pilkington 6 7.56x
Rastrick 6 12.39x
Upton 6 199.34x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 143
Sarah 82
Elizabeth 73
Ann 50
Alice 42
Ellen 40
Jane 37
Martha 30
Margaret 29
Annie 27
Hannah 25
Eliza 18
Harriet 15
Betty 13
Emma 13
Isabella 13
Emily 8
Ada 7
Betsy 7
Esther 7
Catherine 6
Ethel 6
Fanny 6
Florence 6
Frances 6
Maria 6
Charlotte 5
Clara 5
Kate 5
Louisa 5
Ruth 5
Susan 5
Susannah 5
Anne 4
Beatrice 4
Caroline 4
Elizth. 4
Margt. 4
May 4
Nancy 4
Rebecca 4
Bertha 3
Eleanor 3
Francis 3
Lucy 3
Priscilla 3
Selina 3
Agnes 2
Duima 2
Minnie 2

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 150
James 100
William 84
Thomas 66
George 43
Joseph 40
Henry 32
Richard 30
Samuel 24
Robert 23
Edward 17
Peter 15
Arthur 13
Charles 13
Abraham 10
Benjamin 9
Harry 9
Walter 9
Albert 8
Alfred 8
Wm. 8
Edwin 7
Frank 6
Fred 6
Joshua 6
Edmund 5
Thos. 5
Amos 4
Ashworth 4
Ernest 4
Jas. 4
Matthew 4
Daniel 3
Herbert 3
Jesse 3
Ralph 3
Richd. 3
Tom 3
Christopher 2
David 2
Edwd. 2
Eli 2
Hamlet 2
Harold 2
Hugh 2
Josiah 2
Mark 2
Michael 2
Saml. 2
Sylvester 2

FAQ

Cropper surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cropper surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,810 people were recorded with the Cropper surname. That placed it at #2,405 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cropper surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,980 in 2016. That gives Cropper a modern rank of #3,249.

What does the Cropper surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to someone who harvested or gathered crops.

What does the Cropper map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cropper 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.