The Pope surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 63,881 people carried this name — #528 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,620 people counted. That is up 3% from 61,750 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Pope surname

An English surname transferred from the nickname originating as a nickname.

From pope; also used in Ireland/Scotland as a surname meaning "papa, father."

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Pope» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the pope’.

An early record he cites: Alan le Pope, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 615 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 6 births for the Pope name in 1890.

Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 4
Munster 2

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 106 people named Pope 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 Neuquén.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Neuquén 24
Buenos Aires Province 19
Entre Ríos 19
Chubut 18
Río Negro 14
City of Buenos Aires 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Poland’s population register

70 people named Pope have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 124 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Silesian 51
Opole 11
Lower Silesian 3
Lesser Poland 3
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 41 people named Pope.

18 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Creuse.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 18
Creuse 5
Nord 5
Paris 5
Seine-Maritime 3
Saône-et-Loire 2
Loiret 1
Pas-de-Calais 1
Hauts-de-Seine 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

30 people named Pope live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Geneva 14
Bern 5
Vaud 4
Zurich 4
Basel-Stadt 3

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 the Nordic population registers

34 people named Pope is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 34

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).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Pope was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in Worcestershire: 30 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 333. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Worcestershire 30
Gloucestershire 24
Hampshire 21
Dorset 15
Kent 15
Devon 8

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Pope was recorded 15 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1427th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 12. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

184 Pope families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,070 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 57
Massachusetts 47
South Carolina 18
Virginia 16
Pennsylvania 11
Maryland 10
New Hampshire 6
Connecticut 5
New York 5
Maine 4
Vermont 4
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 257 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Pope in American newspapers,
1859–1916.

Newspaper page from Fergus County Democrat carrying the name Pope
Fergus County Democrat 1916-06-22
Newspaper page from Sugar Planter carrying the name Pope
Sugar Planter 1859-09-17
Newspaper page from Sugar Planter carrying the name Pope
Sugar Planter 1859-09-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 15,545 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Pope in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

83,821 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pope. The most, 11,821, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 23,201
New South Wales 19,786
Queensland 14,446
Victoria 13,820
Western Australia 9,949
Tasmania 2,031
ACT (Canberra) 381
Northern Territory 61

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pope.

Who carried it

People named Pope,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Pope
    Thomas Pope 1507–1559 · lawyer
  • Sir William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe
    Sir William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe 1573–1631
  • Alexander Pope
    Alexander Pope 1688–1744 · writer
  • John Pope
    John Pope 1770–1845 · lawyer
  • Nathaniel Pope
    Nathaniel Pope 1784–1850 · judge

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 191 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Pope,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States5,011 records

5,011 records of the Pope name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,169
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 904
  • Other U.S. records 1,938
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Derek Boyd Pope

    Born 1932; from Alameda, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Edward L. Pope

    Born 1918 in Illinois. Enlisted 1942 at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; payroll clerk from St Clair County. U.S. Army veteran; died 1990, buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Belleville, Illinois.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Raffaele Pope

    Arrived at New York in 1905 aboard the Citta di Torino from Genoa and Naples, aged 32; peasant. From San Bartolomeo, Brescia, Italy; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 5,011 records for Pope in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,039 records

2,039 records of the Pope name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,189
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 355
  • Other Australian records 495
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Joseph Pope

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Eleanor, arriving 1831; ticket of leave 1835. Native of Dorsetshire.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mabel Pope

    Arrived in Victoria in 1860 aboard the Omar Pasha, aged 2; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Johann Pope

    Miner of Ballarat E, Victoria; died 1912.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,039 records for Pope in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada228 records

228 records of the Pope name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 123
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 36
  • Other Canadian records 69
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Pope

    Came to Ontario in 1871 aboard the Austrian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Henry G. Pope

    Buried in 1926 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 35.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Carol Lynn Pope

    Died 1944 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 228 records for Pope in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand106 records

106 records of the Pope name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 79
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 24
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Sydney Pope

    Died 1930, aged 83; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert William Pope

    Died 1914, aged 78; buried at Havelock Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Pope

    Buried in 1919 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 74.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 106 records for Pope in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom94 records

94 records of the Pope name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 59
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 24
  • Other British records 11
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jeanie Nimmo Pope

    Died 1951, aged 66; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Pope

    Buried in 1816 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 79.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frances Pope

    Will proved in 1930; of Abergele, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 94 records for Pope in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands30 records

30 records of the Pope name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 12
  • Dutch population registers 9
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 9
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Charlton Arthur Pope

    Died 1961 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 66; accountant.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jean Corneille Pope

    In the population register of Veere; day labourer, born 1750.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Frederik Robert Pope

    In the population register of Maasbree; engineer, born 1865 in Liverpool, England.

    Open Archives, gemeente Peel en Maas (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 30 records for Pope in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France18 records

18 records of the Pope name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Mason Clive Pope

    Born 1939 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Ginestet (Dordogne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jeaninepaule Berthe Emilie Pope

    Born 1925 in Dieppe; died 1994 in Caudebec-lès-Elbeuf (Seine-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 18 records for Pope in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany9 records

9 records of the Pope name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Gustav Pope

    Born 1895; from Schassen, Braunschweig. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 4 December 1918 (Field Artillery Regiment No. 100).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Albert Pope

    From Brevörde, Hannover. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 29 December 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 203).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 9 records for Pope in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Norway2 records

2 records of the Pope name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Marie Pope

    Census of 1910: Kornhaug sanatorium for brystsvake (gaard), Østre Gausdal; nurse, born 1888 in Aarhus i Danmark.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Pope in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pope.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pope 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.

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