Message: "Cooper surname from Germany?"

Cooper surname from Germany?

by dannyboy175 (guest)

12/10/2013, 5:27 PM

I'm casually doing research on my family tree (whatever I can find on Ancestry.com) and I found that my 4th great grandfather was supposed to have come from Germany, with the surname of Cooper. I've only know Cooper to be of english origin. Is this possible that this was someone who's ancestors originally came from England? Maybe it could be that the name was translated to "Cooper" from the German word for barrel maker?

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- Marc (guest) +1

12/10/2013, 6:28 PM

The main German equivalents of Cooper are Kief(f)er, Küf(f)er, and Küp(p)er. If you go to tinyurl.com/qegn9ee, you'll see that there were many Germans bearing these names who americanized them to Cooper.

- lauraandrea

12/12/2013, 5:26 AM

i guess it would be 'küfer' in germany, or in the northern regions maybe 'küper'. but it could also be 'fassbinder' (literally "to bind a barell"), that is a noun of the verb cooper. or 'fassmacher' ("making a barell").

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