WELCOME TO THE COPUS FAMILY WEBSITE
My name is Brian William Copus and my personal Copus lineage is shown on page 2.
I have been researching my lineage and relevant history regarding the Copus surname and have to date gathered over 150 blood related names in my Copus family tree.
Enquiries and exchanges of information regarding all things Copus are welcome, please use the message page to e-mail me.
A link to a professional genealogy research service is shown at the bottom of this page.
Although the surname Copus can now be found in most English speaking countries it’s origin is not proven, the evidence does though seem to point towards it being of English origin as reference to it can be found as far back as the 16th century in England. In the USA it is generally thought to be of German origin but no reference to it can be found in any of the German surname lists that I have looked at, even spelt with a K or similar sounding pronounciations. I have also heard reference to it being of Dutch origin but once again I have not seen hard evidence of this.
Copus is not a common name in the UK this is evident from the 1881 UK census which lists 271 Copus persons of which only 53 are heads of families, when you consider that this census contains over 30 million names you realise the rarity of it.
The bulk of surnames in England were formed in the 13th & 14th centuries, the norm is that people in the 11th century did not have surnames but by the 15th century they did.
If the name Copus evolved during this period the likelihood is that it derived from one of the following English surnames :-
Cope... A common English name meaning the maker of cloaks or capes.
Copp... An English name for someone who lives near or on a hill.
Copsey..An English Suffolk name frequently found in the middle ages, recorded in the
Domesday book as Copsi.
Copys...A not so common English name found in the middle ages.
Copus is a name that when heard can be easily mis-spelt, most people with the name will know a frequent question put to them is “How do you spell that ?” A good example of the mis-interpretation of the name is that of my own Grandfathers entry in the 1901 UK census, the name appears as Copers. I queried this on the official government web site assuring them that all the birth certicates and marriage certificate show the correct name Copus. The answer was that it cannot be changed as that was how the enumerator had written it down. If this could happen in 1901 it is not difficult to see how a few centuries earlier someone referring to the Cope’s family passing it on as the Copes then Copus family.
Finally many thanks to Mark from Bath who back in 2002 stimulated my interest in genealogy by sending me his family tree which turned out to also be my family tree.
