Cooper Name Meaning: Origin, Popularity & Nicknames

What Does Cooper Mean?

Cooper originally meant barrel maker. Often, this was the name given to the person who did this job in a village ⁽¹⁾.

What Is the Origin of the Name Cooper?

Cooper has an English origin.

How Popular Is the Name Cooper?

Cooper did not gain popularity until the early 1980s when it rose into the top 1,000 most popular names. Since 1982 when the name was the 995th most popular name in the United States, Cooper has only increased in popularity. By 2021, Cooper ranked as the 68th most popular name in the United States and is still rising ⁽²⁾.

This name is even more popular in other countries. In Australia and New Zealand, Cooper was the 32nd and 30th most popular name, respectively, in 2021. While this name was only the 156th most popular name in England in 2021, it was the 77th most popular name in Scotland.

How Do I Pronounce Cooper?

Pronounce the name Cooper like “Ku-per.”

Is Cooper a Boy or Girl Name?

Cooper is a unisex name, though it is most often used for boys. It can also be a surname.

Variations of Cooper

Cooper is a simple name, but that does not mean that it does not have plenty of variations. Some of these variations are simple plays on the spelling of the name, while others are versions of Cooper that come from other languages.

• Copper (Latin)
• Couper (Scottish)
• Coupar (Anglo-Saxon)
• Cowper (Scottish)
• Kuper (Hebrew)
• Kupper (Germanic)

Nicknames for Cooper

You likely know of a few obvious nicknames for Cooper, including Coop. However, there are plenty of other nicknames that can come from Cooper. These nicknames can be a play on the name itself, or you can use the origin of the name to come up with nicknames.

• C
• Coo
• Coco
• Coop
• Cooper Trooper
• Coopie
• Coops
• Coopster
• Coopy
• Helicooper
• Hooper
• Perry
• Scoop
• Scoopy

Similar Names to Cooper

If you enjoy elements of the name Cooper, but you do not want to use it yourself, there are many names that you can use instead. Cooper is popular in the 21st century, the origin of the name is an occupation, and it has a two-syllable structure.

• Archer
• Baker
• Booker
• Cameron
• Coleman
• Deacon
• Hunter
• Jordan
• Logan
• Palmer
• Pepper
• Piper
• Porter
• Sailor
• Scout
• Shepard
• Summer
• Tanner
• Taylor
• Walker

Middle Names for Cooper

Since Cooper is a two-syllable name, it does well with several types of middle names. You may choose a single syllable or a multi-syllable middle name. Given that Cooper has classic origins, but modern popularity, you can pair it with either a modern or classic middle name.

• Bartholemew
• Blake
• Braxton
• Brook
• Brooklyn
• Emerson
• James
• Pablo
• Paige
• Paris
• Paul
• Penn
• Phoenix
• Pierce
• Presley
• Pryce
• Smith
• Ward
• Wright

Sibling Names for Cooper

When you have a second child, it is a good idea to pick a name for that child that goes well with your first child’s name, but that provides room for the identity of both children. When pairing a name with Cooper, you can pick a name that is popular in the same way as Cooper. You may also want a name that has similar origins.

For a brother:

• Bailey
• Chandler
• Fallon
• Foster
• Leander
• Parker
• Patrick
• Ryder
• Slater

For a sister:

• Beatrice
• Bella
• Harper
• Patience
• Payton
• Pearl
• Phoebe
• Sawyer
• Skylar

Famous People Named Cooper

Cooper is a fairly popular name for famous people throughout history. The name Cooper is used by politicians, athletes, writers, inventors, and musicians. There are also quite a few people with Cooper as their surname, including a well-known journalist and a notorious airline hijacker.

• Cooper Carlisle: American professional football player.
• Cooper Cronk: Australian rugby league player.
• Cooper Edens: American author and illustrator of children’s books.
• Cooper Kupp: American football player.
• Cooper Manning: American sports television host.
• Cooper Rawson: British member of Parliament.
• Cooper Smeaton: Canadian professional ice hockey referee and coach.
• Cooper Vuna: New Zealand rugby league player.
• Peter Cooper Hewitt: American inventor.
• Alice Cooper: American singer.
• Anderson Cooper: American journalist ⁽³⁾.
• D.B. Cooper: Unknown airline hijacker.

Cooper in Popular Culture

There are a few characters in literature, film, and television who have the first name Cooper, including a Private Practice character, and a character from Trolls. However, more characters have Cooper as their surname. Those characters include an iconic comic book character, a tricky raccoon in a video game, and an eccentric FBI agent.

• Cooper: Character from the tv show “Dino Crisis.”
• Cooper Freedman: Character from the tv series “Private Practice.”
• Cooper Daniels: Character from the animated tv series “Ben 10.”
• Cooper: Character from the movie “Trolls.”
• Betty Cooper: Character from “Archie Comics.”
• Dale Cooper: Character from the tv show “Twin Peaks.”
• Alison Cooper: Character from the tv series “Ghosts.”
• Gwen Cooper: Character from the tv series “Torchwood.”
• Mark Cooper: Character from the sitcom “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.”
• Sheldon Cooper: Character from the tv series “The Big Bang Theory.”
• Val Cooper: Character from the Marvel Universe.
• K.C. Cooper: Main character in the tv show “K.C. Undercover.”

Cooper FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about the name Cooper.