2000
#1,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,520
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.24
Uncommon Last name
Roper
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells ropes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,080 Americans carry the last name Roper. That puts it at #1,826 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,523 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Roper 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 Roper with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,523
Census rank
#1,826
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,255 bearers of the surname Roper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1826th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Roper, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Roper
The surname Roper has its origins in the Old English pre-7th century word 'rap' or 'rap-ere', meaning a rope maker or rope seller. It is an occupational surname, denoting the profession and trade of the earliest bearers of the name.
Roper is an English surname that first appeared in records dating back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known references is from the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1176, where it is recorded as 'Radulfus le Roper'. The surname is also found in various other medieval records such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279, listing a 'Walter le Roper'.
The Domesday Book of 1086 does not appear to contain any direct references to the Roper surname, although it does mention individuals with occupations related to rope-making, such as 'cordarius' or 'cordwainer'. This suggests that the surname likely emerged from these earlier occupational titles.
In the 13th century, the Roper family held lands in the county of Kent, England. One notable figure from this time was Richard Roper (c.1235-c.1295), a wealthy landowner and benefactor of religious orders in Kent.
The earliest known record of the Roper surname in its modern spelling dates back to 1327, when a John Roper is mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire.
Notable historical figures with the Roper surname include:
1. Sir John Roper (c.1493-1524), an English nobleman and courtier during the reign of Henry VIII.
2. Margaret Roper (1505-1544), the daughter of Sir Thomas More, and a noted scholar and humanist.
3. Abel Roper (c.1665-1726), an English writer and biographer who authored "The Life of Mrs. Catherine Philips, The Celebrated Venetian Lady".
4. Trevor Roper (1914-2003), a renowned British historian and author, best known for his work on the last days of Adolf Hitler.
5. Jonathan Roper (1701-1754), an American colonial merchant and politician from Massachusetts.
The Roper surname has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Roper's Gate in Norfolk, Roper's Close in Gloucestershire, and Roper's Farm in Hampshire, further reflecting its occupational origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Roper
Among Census respondents with the surname Roper, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Roper 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 Roper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.5% · 13,390
- Black or African American20.9% · 4,019
- Two or more races4.3% · 834
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 739
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 140
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 133
Timeline
Historical Census data for Roper
Roper 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
#1,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,065
+545 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 6.80
Rank movement Down 107 places
2020
#1,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,255
-810 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 6.44
Rank movement Down 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,680 | 19,520 | 7.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,787 | 20,065 | 6.80 | +545 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 107 places |
| 2020 | #1,826 | 19,255 | 6.44 | -810 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 39 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 Roper 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 | #1,787 | #1,826 | -2.2% |
| Count | 20,065 | 19,255 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 6.80 | 6.44 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Roper bearers went from 20,065 to 19,255 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,787 to #1,826.
FAQ
Roper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Roper?
Name Census estimates that about 22,080 living Americans carry the surname Roper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,523 residents.
How common is Roper?
Roper ranks #1,826 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.44 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 19,255 people with the surname Roper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,080), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.44 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 Roper.
Has Roper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Roper went from 20,065 recorded bearers to 19,255. That is a decrease of 810 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,787 to #1,826.
What does the Census say about the background of Roper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Roper, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Roper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.5% (13,390 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Roper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.5%), Black (20.9%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Roper (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 Roper mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells ropes. 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 Roper (6.44 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 share the surname Roper?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.