The Cooper surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 280,791 people carried this name — #70 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,050 people counted. That is up 4% from 270,097 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Cooper surname
An English surname originating as an occupation of cooper.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cooper» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 36 births for the Cooper name in 1890.
Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Dublin.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 386 people named Cooper live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
194 people named Cooper live in Switzerland.
They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 186 people named Cooper.
Most of them — 136 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 16 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
101 people named Cooper have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 255 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
347 people named Cooper are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Cooper in American newspapers,
1900–1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,012,998 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Cooper,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury 1621–1683 · judge -
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury 1671–1713 · writer -
Abraham Cooper 1787–1868 · painter -
James Fenimore Cooper 1789–1851 · writer -
William Cooper 1798–1864 · zoologist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 154 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Cooper.
- Conty 193 · U.S. census
- Convers 116 · U.S. census
- Cook 302,589 · U.S. census
- Cool 4,958 · U.S. census
- Coolen 221 · U.S. census
- Cools 216 · U.S. census
- Coopman 461 · U.S. census
- Cop 264 · U.S. census
- Cope 18,410 · U.S. census
- Copp 3,469 · U.S. census
- Coppa 1,141 · U.S. census
- Coppel 235 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Cooper is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.