The English surname Cooper is a descriptive name that was given to people in the middle ages who repaired or made wooden vessels such as barrels, tubs, buckets, casks, and vats.
The word is derived from the Middle Ages English couper, or cowper. This came, in turn from the Dutch word of the same period – kuper, the root of which, kup, means tub.
The name is very common in England and different spellings are also common in northern Europe and the USA. These include the Jewish names Kupfer and Kupper. The spread of the surname reflects the fact that barrel making was an incredibly common occupation in the middle ages as barrels were used as containers for many different things.
Coopers were well regarded in society and would have been well known in their local communities. Everyone would have needed to know where to get barrels from, or where to get them made, and the description of the man's occupation evolved into his name. Today, hardly anyone knows what a cooper was or what he did, the occupation no longer exists apart from among very specialised craft makers who are keeping alive some of the techniques used in traditional barrel making.
The word is derived from the Middle Ages English couper, or cowper. This came, in turn from the Dutch word of the same period – kuper, the root of which, kup, means tub.
The name is very common in England and different spellings are also common in northern Europe and the USA. These include the Jewish names Kupfer and Kupper. The spread of the surname reflects the fact that barrel making was an incredibly common occupation in the middle ages as barrels were used as containers for many different things.
Coopers were well regarded in society and would have been well known in their local communities. Everyone would have needed to know where to get barrels from, or where to get them made, and the description of the man's occupation evolved into his name. Today, hardly anyone knows what a cooper was or what he did, the occupation no longer exists apart from among very specialised craft makers who are keeping alive some of the techniques used in traditional barrel making.
