2000
#49,471
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 399
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Copelan
A variant spelling of the English surname Copeland, derived from a place name meaning "valley with enclosures for livestock".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 476 Americans carry the last name Copelan. That puts it at #53,758 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 720,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Copelan 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.
Bearers in the US
476
1 in 720,072
Census rank
#53,758
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
415
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 415 bearers of the surname Copelan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53758th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Copelan, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Copelan
The surname Copelan is of English origin, with its roots traced back to the 13th century in the county of Yorkshire. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "copp," meaning a small hill or mound, combined with the suffix "-lan" which denotes a piece of land or an enclosure.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Yorkshire Feet of Fines from the year 1292, where a John de Coppelan is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already well-established by that time.
In the 14th century, the Copelan family is mentioned in several historical records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1327, where a Robert Copeland is listed as a taxpayer. The name also appears in the Poll Tax returns of 1379, suggesting its widespread use across various social strata.
During the medieval period, variations in spelling were common due to the lack of standardized orthography. Some of the early spellings of the name include Copelond, Coplande, and Copelain, all found in various historical documents of the time.
One notable bearer of the Copelan surname was John Copeland, a 14th-century English military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He was born around 1325 and gained recognition for his valor in battles against the French, including the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.
Another individual of historical significance was William Copelan, a 16th-century English clergyman and scholar. He was born in 1558 and served as the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, from 1607 until his death in 1632.
In the 17th century, the name Copelan can be found in various parish records and local histories, such as the Lancashire Parish Registers, where a Thomas Copelan is mentioned as a resident of Blackburn in 1624.
The 18th century saw the rise of a prominent Scottish branch of the Copelan family, with Alexander Copelan (1738-1822) being a notable figure. He was a Scottish merchant and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the city of Glasgow.
In the 19th century, the Copelan surname continued to spread across the British Isles, with individuals bearing the name being found in various census records and historical documents. One such example is George Copelan (1825-1892), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in London and the surrounding areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Copelan
Among Census respondents with the surname Copelan, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Copelan 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 Copelan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 352
- Black or African American4.8% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 19
- Two or more races3.4% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Copelan
Copelan 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
#50,275
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 416
+17 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 804 places
2020
#53,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 415
-1 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 3,483 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,471 | 399 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #50,275 | 416 | 0.14 | +17 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 804 places |
| 2020 | #53,758 | 415 | 0.14 | -1 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 3,483 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 Copelan 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 | #50,275 | #53,758 | -6.9% |
| Count | 416 | 415 | -0.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.14 | 0.14 | -0.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Copelan bearers went from 416 to 415 (-0.2% change). The surname moved down 3,483 positions in the national ranking, going from #50,275 to #53,758.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Copelan
FAQ
Copelan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Copelan?
Name Census estimates that about 476 living Americans carry the surname Copelan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 720,072 residents.
How common is Copelan?
Copelan ranks #53,758 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 415 people with the surname Copelan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (476), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Copelan.
Has Copelan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Copelan went from 416 recorded bearers to 415. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #50,275 to #53,758.
What does the Census say about the background of Copelan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Copelan, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Copelan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (352 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Copelan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Black (4.8%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Copelan (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 Copelan mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Copeland, derived from a place name meaning "valley with enclosures for livestock". 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 Copelan (0.14 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 Americans have the surname Copelan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.