Copper
A gender-neutral English name derived from the reddish-brown metallic element.
Name Census estimates that about 533 living Americans carry the first name Copper. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Copper today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Copper births was 2023 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Copper. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
533
~ 1 in 643,066 Americans
Peak year
2023
48 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,203
Tracked since 1978
Census
Copper in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 718 people with the first name Copper, which placed it at #15,879 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,879
National first-name rank
People counted
718
718 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Copper
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Copper is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Copper described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Copper at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 602
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 43
- Two or more races4.5% · 32
- Black or African American2.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Copper
Copper is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 538 total registrations, 387 (71.9%) were male and 151 (28.1%) were female.
Copper as a male name
- Ranked #4,203 in 2024
- 25 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (37 births)
Copper as a female name
- Ranked #8,535 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Copper on both sides of the split. Of the 715 people counted with this name, 533 were male (74.5%) and 182 were female (25.5%).
Popularity
Copper: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Copper from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 265 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Copper remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Copper by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Copper during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Coppers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Copper, while Tennessee, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Copper
The name Copper is a curious one with a unique origin and history. It is derived from the English word "copper," referring to the reddish-brown metallic element. The name's roots can be traced back to the late 18th century, when the industrialization of copper mining and production began to take hold in various parts of the world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Copper can be found in the mining communities of Cornwall, England, where it was often given to children born into families involved in the copper industry. The name was a nod to the significance of this metal in the region's economic and cultural fabric.
Copper's association with the mining industry extended beyond England. In the United States, particularly in the copper-rich regions of the American West, the name gained popularity among mining families during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a way to honor the mineral that provided their livelihood and contributed to the growth of these frontier towns.
While the name Copper may have originated from humble beginnings, it has been carried by several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure was Copper Underhill (1824-1896), a British engineer and surveyor who played a crucial role in the construction of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
Another notable bearer of the name was Copper Wilkinson (1868-1942), an American prospector and entrepreneur who made his fortune in the gold and silver mines of the American West. His life was marked by a sense of adventure and a dedication to the mining industry that gave him his unique moniker.
In the realm of literature, Copper Fenimore (1901-1988) was a celebrated American novelist and poet, known for her vivid depictions of life in the mining towns of the American West. Her works captured the hardships and triumphs of those who toiled in the mines, shedding light on the significance of the copper industry in shaping the region's cultural identity.
Moving into the 20th century, Copper Johnson (1917-2002) was an influential labor leader and advocate for miners' rights. Born into a mining family in West Virginia, he dedicated his life to improving the working conditions and safety standards for those employed in the copper and coal industries.
Finally, Copper Miner (1945-2021) was a renowned artist and sculptor whose works celebrated the beauty and resilience of the copper industry. Born in a small mining town in Arizona, his sculptures and installations captured the essence of the mining communities and the enduring legacy of the metal that defined their way of life.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Copper throughout history, each leaving their mark on the industries, communities, and cultural landscapes shaped by this valuable and enduring metal.
People
Copper + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Copper as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Copper: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Copper?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 533 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Copper going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 643,066 US residents.
Is Copper a common name?
We classify Copper as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 538 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Copper most popular?
The single biggest year for Copper was 2023, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Copper is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Copper in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 718 people with the name Copper, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,879 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Copper in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Copper?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Copper on both sides of the split. Of the 715 people counted with this name, 533 were male (74.5%) and 182 were female (25.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Copper?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Copper is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Copper most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Copper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (602 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Copper in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Copper a male name?
Yes, 71.9% of people registered as Copper in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Copper still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Copper in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Copper can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Copper?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Copper at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.