2000
#1,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.71
Uncommon Last name
Cope
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of cloaks, or a nickname for someone who wore a cloak.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,181 Americans carry the last name Cope. That puts it at #2,009 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,984 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cope surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cope with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,984
Census rank
#2,009
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,599 bearers of the surname Cope in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2009th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cope, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cope
Among Census respondents with the surname Cope, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cope bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cope surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.5% · 15,392
- Black or African American3.9% · 686
- Two or more races3.9% · 681
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 597
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 127
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 116
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cope
Cope appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,410
+300 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 6.24
Rank movement Down 145 places
2020
#2,009
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,599
-811 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 5.89
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,819 | 18,110 | 6.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,964 | 18,410 | 6.24 | +300 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 145 places |
| 2020 | #2,009 | 17,599 | 5.89 | -811 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 45 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cope surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,964 | #2,009 | -2.3% |
| Count | 18,410 | 17,599 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 6.24 | 5.89 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cope bearers went from 18,410 to 17,599 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,964 to #2,009.
FAQ
Cope surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cope?
Name Census estimates that about 20,181 living Americans carry the surname Cope. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,984 residents.
How common is Cope?
Cope ranks #2,009 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,599 people with the surname Cope. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,181), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Cope.
Has Cope become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cope went from 18,410 recorded bearers to 17,599. That is a decrease of 811 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,964 to #2,009.
What does the Census say about the background of Cope?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cope, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Black (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cope in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (15,392 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cope appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.5%), Black (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cope (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cope mean?
An English occupational surname for a maker or seller of cloaks, or a nickname for someone who wore a cloak. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cope (5.89 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Cope?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Cope on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.