boy's name
Cooper
KOO-per
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 142,103
the United States
#27
2025 births
Cooper is a boy's name of English origin meaning "barrel maker." It began as an occupational surname for a craftsman who built and repaired casks, barrels, and buckets — a skilled trade that was essential before modern containers existed.
- Cooper is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 7,653 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 433 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1882.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Cooper over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 30 |
| 1890s | 21 |
| 1900s | 20 |
| 1910s | 163 |
| 1920s | 172 |
| 1930s | 135 |
| 1940s | 117 |
| 1950s | 118 |
| 1960s | 155 |
| 1970s | 238 |
| 1980s | 1,040 |
| 1990s | 6,440 |
| 2000s | 33,083 |
| 2010s | 50,345 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 34,407 |
What Cooper means
Cooper means one who makes barrels. Coopering was a demanding craft: a watertight cask had to be built from shaped staves held by hoops without glue or nails, and the trade had its own guilds and apprenticeships across medieval Europe.
Where Cooper comes from
Cooper comes from the Middle English couper, from a Low German or Dutch root related to kuper, a maker of wooden vessels, ultimately from the Latin cupa, meaning cask or tub. Coopers were indispensable in a world where almost everything liquid or perishable traveled in barrels — beer, wine, salted fish, gunpowder, nails. The craft supported distinct specialisms, with wet coopers building watertight casks and dry coopers making containers for goods that did not leak. The occupational term became a fixed surname across England during the medieval period, and moved into use as a given name in the modern era alongside Mason, Harper, and Hudson.
Cooper in use
Coopering was skilled enough to warrant its own guilds; a watertight cask used no glue or nails.
How popular is Cooper?
In 2025, Cooper was given to 7,653 babies in the United States, ranking #27 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Cooper is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Cooper
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Cooper also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cooper over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Cooper in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Cooper
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cooper — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Cooper
What does the name Cooper mean?
Cooper means "barrel maker," from the medieval occupational term.
What did a cooper actually do?
A cooper built and repaired casks, barrels, and buckets from shaped wooden staves held together by hoops.
Was Cooper originally a surname?
Yes. Cooper was an English occupational surname before becoming a given name.
How popular is the name Cooper?
In 2025, Cooper was given to 7,653 babies in the United States, ranking #27 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Cooper a girl's or a boy's name?
Cooper is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Cooper?
Cooper has 2 syllables.
Is Cooper a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cooper currently ranks #27 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.