How common is the surname Cope?

18,410 people in the United States had the surname Cope in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,771 Americans. It ranked 1,964th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Cope?

Edward Drinker Cope, American paleontologist, geologist, and biologist (1840–1897), followed by Haley Cope.

Where is the surname Cope most common?

Wikidata records people named Cope in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Is the surname Cope getting more or less common?

More common. 18,110 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,410 in 2010, up 1.7%.

The surname Cope

A surname, carried by 18,410 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex C100

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Cope is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 18,410 people named Cope in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 16,771 Americans. That is up 1.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 18,110.

#1,964

rank among US surnames

18,410

people in 2010

6.2

per 100,000 Americans

+1.7%

change since 2000 (was #1,819)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,955	Hutton	18,479	16,708
#1,956	Dobbs	18,476	16,711
#1,957	Lay	18,468	16,718
#1,958	Abel	18,464	16,721
#1,959	Keen	18,459	16,726
#1,960	Woody	18,434	16,749
#1,961	Luke	18,425	16,757

Who is named Cope

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

91% of people named Cope identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 91%
Black (not Hispanic) 4.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Copes

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Edward Drinker Cope
American paleontologist, geologist, and biologist (1840–1897)
Haley Cope
American swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, born 1979
Kenneth Cope
British actor (1931–2024)
David Cope
American composer and scientist, 1941–2025
John Cope
British Army general (1690-1760)

Notable Copes come mostly from the United States (3), the United Kingdom (1) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Cope

Cope has the Soundex code C100, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C100.

Questions

How common is the surname Cope?: 18,410 people in the United States had the surname Cope in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 16,771 Americans. It ranked 1,964th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Cope?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Cope identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Cope?: Edward Drinker Cope, American paleontologist, geologist, and biologist (1840–1897), followed by Haley Cope.
Where is the surname Cope most common?: Wikidata records people named Cope in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Is the surname Cope getting more or less common?: More common. 18,110 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 18,410 in 2010, up 1.7%.