History of the Hooper Surname

The Hooper surname is English in origin, emerging as an occupational name in the Middle Ages for a person who made or fitted wooden or metal hoops for barrels and casks. The name spread from England to other countries through migration, particularly during the 17th century.

Origins and meaning

• Occupational origin: The name derives from the Middle English words hoper or houper, referring to a skilled craftsman. This artisan would have been essential to the cooperage trade, which involved making wooden vessels for transporting goods.

• Etymology: The name is derived from the Old English word hop (hoop), combined with the suffix -er, meaning "one who works with".

• Geographical variations: Some sources suggest alternative origins for certain branches of the family, including:

  • A person who lived on a "hop," or a piece of land enclosed in a marsh.

  • The possibility of a German origin, in which the name was Höper or Höfer.

Early history and migration

• First records: One of the first recorded spellings of the name was Adam le Hoper(e) in Wiltshire, England, in 1228. Other early records note William le Houper in Devonshire in 1273 and Ralph Hooper in Devonshire in 1444.

• Protestant persecution: The name's history was influenced by the Marian persecutions in the 1500s. John Hooper, a Protestant bishop, was martyred in 1555. After his death, some of his relatives are believed to have changed their name to variations of Hooper to avoid persecution.

• Migration to the Americas: The Hooper surname crossed the Atlantic during the Great Migration to America.

  • William Hooper, age 18, was one of the earliest recorded bearers of the name to settle in America, arriving in New England from London in 1635.

  • The family name was prevalent in Maine in 1840, representing about 12% of all recorded Hoopers in the U.S. at the time.

• Other migrations: Hoopers also migrated to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Notable Hoopers

Several notable individuals have carried the Hooper name throughout history:

• John Hooper (d. 1555): An English Protestant martyr and Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester.

• Edmund Hooper (1553–1621): The organist of Westminster Abbey from 1606 to 1621.

• Henry Hooper (c. 1606–1676): An early American immigrant who settled in Maryland. His descendants, recorded in various records from the 17th to the 19th centuries, form a prominent American Hooper lineage.

• William Hooper (1742–1790): An American Founding Father who signed the Declaration of Independence.

• Rear Admiral Stanford Caldwell Hooper (1884–1955): An American radio pioneer known as "The Father of Naval Radio".

• Robert Hooper (1773–1835): An English medical doctor and author who published the Compendious Medical Dictionary in 1798.

• Joe Ronnie Hooper (1938–1979): An American soldier and decorated war hero who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War.

Genetic genealogy

DNA testing projects, such as those conducted through Family Tree DNA, investigate the genetic history of various Hooper family lines. These projects trace paternal lineages and have linked several Hooper groups, including some early American settlers in Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and even as far as California.

Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of the Hooper surname primarily stem from its medieval English occupational origin, where inconsistent spelling was common. The different forms evolved from the Middle English words hoper or houper, which described a craftsman who made hoops for barrels.

Common variations and related spellings include:

• Hopper: This is one of the most common variations and has been recorded in English documents since medieval times. It also has a distinct, though related, occupational origin for someone working with seed-hoppers or hops.

• Hoopes: This variant, primarily of English origin, shares the same roots and meaning as Hooper. Early Quakers in Pennsylvania had the Hoopes surname, which may have been a change to avoid religious persecution in England.

• Hoper: An older and simplified spelling, this was one of the earliest recorded forms of the name, with an Adam le Hoper documented in England in 1228.

• Houper: This spelling appeared in medieval records, such as with William le Houper in Devonshire in 1273.

• Other uncommon variations: Less frequent variants that have been recorded over time include Hoopper, Hoopr, Hoeper, Hoober, and Hopoer.

Across other languages, variants adapted to local pronunciations:

• German: Variations include Höper and Höfer.

• Dutch: A related form is Hoepen.

• French: The name can appear as Houperier.

• Celtic: In Ireland and Scotland, prefixes were sometimes added, creating names like MacHooper or O'Hooper.

Are there Hooper families with different origins?

Yes, while the most common origin of the Hooper surname is English, other unrelated origins also exist. The English name is primarily occupational, but other families with the same name developed separately in different regions and cultures from different roots.

English occupational origins:

The primary source of the Hooper surname is an English occupational name for a maker of hoops, most often for wooden casks and barrels.

• The name comes from the Middle English words hoper or houper, which referred to this specific craft.

• Some Hoopers are likely descended from a cooper (a barrel-maker) or an assistant.

English topographic and behavioral origins:

For some English Hooper and Hopper families, the name was not occupational but descriptive.

• Topographic: In Sussex and Kent, a hoper or hopper could refer to someone who lived in an enclosed piece of land in a marshy area.

• Behavioral: The surname could also be a nickname derived from the Old English word hoppian, meaning "to hop, leap, or dance," and was given to a particularly energetic or lively person.

Why these origins don't connect:

These different origins mean that families with the Hooper surname are not necessarily related. Over time, individuals and families who had no connection whatsoever ended up with the same last name because it was based on:

• A common medieval trade

• A physical feature of the land they lived on

• A personal physical characteristic or mannerism

Less Common Origins

Besides the main English occupational, topographic, and behavioral roots, other less common origins of the Hooper surname exist. These often developed independently in different regions or through the Anglicization of names from other languages.

Celtic origins:

In Ireland and Scotland, the name Hooper is occasionally an Anglicized version of a Gaelic or Celtic name.

• In Ireland, especially in areas like Ulster and the southeast, the name can derive from the Gaelic Ó hOibhrín, which means "descendant of Oibhrín". The original Gaelic pronunciation was altered over time to sound more English, eventually taking the form of Hooper or Hopper.

• In some cases, Irish and Scottish families adopted Hooper and its variations after migrating from England, particularly after the Marian persecutions in the mid-1500s.

German and Dutch origins:

For some families, the name was brought to English-speaking countries from continental Europe, where the spelling and meaning evolved differently.

• German: Some families with the surname variation Höper or Höfer have a distinct German origin, possibly coming from a Middle Low German word hoppen meaning "to limp or stumble".

• Dutch: Related forms, such as Hoep or Hoepman, can be found in the Netherlands. These may be habitational names from places like the hamlet of Hoep, or they could refer to a "man from Hoep".

Combination surnames:

The surname can also appear as a part of a hyphenated or compound surname.

• Hooper-Lewis: This is an English-Welsh example, where the Hooper surname was combined with the Welsh name Lewis, which means "famed warrior".

Jewish origins:

Some Hooper families may have Jewish ancestry. While it is not a common Jewish surname, it could have been adopted by Jewish families in England or elsewhere. Surnames were often assumed based on location or trade, or changed for assimilation purposes, making it possible for some Jewish individuals to have taken on the name.

Here are a few ways a family with Jewish heritage might have acquired the Hooper surname:

• Anglicization: Jewish immigrants to England, particularly Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often changed their surnames to sound more English. They may have had a similar-sounding name in their country of origin that was transliterated or simplified into Hooper.

• Adoption of a common name: Rather than simply anglicizing a name, some Jewish families in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world adopted common, non-Jewish surnames to better assimilate into the dominant culture. This would have made them less conspicuous and helped them avoid prejudice.

• Marriage and conversion: It is also possible for a Jewish person to have taken the Hooper surname through marriage, or for a non-Jewish Hooper to have converted to Judaism.

Example of a Jewish Hooper:

The most well-known example of a Jewish person with the Hooper surname is the actor Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street. While the character's last name was Hooper, Lee himself was Jewish, and it was revealed in a Sesame Street television special that Mr. Hooper was Jewish as well.

How to confirm Jewish origins:

Since the Hooper surname is primarily English, a family with this name cannot assume Jewish ancestry without supporting evidence. To confirm a Jewish origin, a genealogical investigation would be necessary, looking for records that point toward Jewish ancestry. Resources such as those listed on Jewish genealogy sites like JewishGen can be useful for this.

What products besides barrels did coopers and hoopers make?

Beyond just barrels, coopers and hoopers produced a wide range of essential wooden containers and household goods, which were vital for commerce and daily life before the age of modern plastics and packaging. The cooper's trade was specialized, often broken down into three main categories.

Products made by coopers/hoopers

White cooperage:

This type of cooperage involved making straight-staved vessels for household use that did not require the curved, water-tight construction of barrels.

• Household goods: Tubs, buckets, washtubs, and butter churns.

• Kitchenware: Wooden bowls, spoons, and ladles.

• Other items: Sieves, small fireplace bellows, and military drums.

Dry (or slack) cooperage:

These coopers made non-liquid-tight casks for shipping and storing dry goods.

• Dry goods containers: Containers for items such as flour, tobacco, fruits, and vegetables.

• Specialty containers: Tightly constructed casks for keeping sensitive goods like gunpowder and flour dry and secure.

Wet (or tight) cooperage:

This was the most skilled branch of the trade, requiring a cooper to make containers that were completely water-tight and could hold liquids under pressure. Products included:

• Beverage casks: Barrels, vats, and kegs for beer, wine, and liquor.

• Storage vats: Large vats for breweries and other industrial purposes.

• Shipping containers: Casks for transporting water, oil, and paint.

Products made by hoopers:

Before the trades merged, a hooper was a specialist who made the wooden or metal hoops for a cooper's products. While the cooper crafted the staves and assembled the vessel, the hooper's product was the critical hoop that held everything tightly together. As metal bands became more common, the specific trade of a separate "hooper" faded, and coopers typically took on this role themselves.

What tools did hoopers use to make hoops?

For centuries, the hooper's craft involved using specialized tools to make wooden or metal bands that were crucial to the integrity of a cooper's barrel. The specific tools varied depending on the hoop material.

For making wooden hoops:

Wooden hoops, typically made from flexible branches like willow, were used on barrels for dry goods. The primary tools for making these hoops were fairly simple.

• Draw knife: Used to strip the bark and smooth the branch into a consistent thickness and width.

• Shaving horse: A specialized workbench that held the piece of wood firmly, allowing the hooper to use a draw knife more efficiently and safely.

• Block and tackle: A system of ropes and pulleys was sometimes used to bend thicker wooden bands into the correct circular shape.

For making metal hoops:

As metal hoops became more common, especially for containers holding liquids, the hooper's tools changed.

• Hoop iron or strapping: Raw, flat iron bands or strapping were hammered along an anvil to stretch and "splay" the metal, creating a flared shape that would fit the tapered barrel.

• Anvil: A heavy block, often with a rounded edge, against which the metal was hammered and shaped.

• Hammer: A heavy mallet or hammer was used to shape and fine-tune the curve of the metal.

• Rivet gun: This was used to secure the overlapping ends of the metal hoop together.

• Vise or clamps: These were essential for holding the hoop material in place while it was bent and shaped.

For fitting hoops onto barrels:

Regardless of the hoop material, fitting the band onto the barrel required a specific tool.

• Hoop driver: This was a block of wood or metal shaped to fit over the edge of the hoop. When struck with a hammer or mallet, it would force the hoop down onto the barrel staves, creating a tight friction fit.

• Cooper's hammer: A specialized hammer, often weighing around three pounds, was used with the hoop driver to pound the hoops into place.

What other crafts used hoop-making skills besides coopering?

The craft of making hoops, or rings, was a valuable skill used in several trades besides coopering. Hoops were necessary for constructing a wide variety of items from wood and metal.

Wheelwright:

Wheelwrights, who made or repaired wheels for vehicles and other machines, used hoop-making skills for two purposes:

• Metal tires: The iron band, or "tire," that surrounds a wooden wheel's rim is a type of hoop. A wheelwright would forge a strip of iron, shape it into a perfect circle, and then fit it onto the wooden wheel while it was red-hot. The cooling iron would shrink, creating a strong compression that held the wooden components tightly together.

• Hub rings: Wheelwrights also fit and secured metal bands onto the hubs of wooden wheels to prevent them from splitting.

Drum making:

Making the hoops that secure the drumhead to the body is a critical part of crafting certain drums, particularly military-style snare and bass drums.

• Tension hoops: Historically, drummers used rope tensioning systems, which involved a hoop that was placed over the drumhead and secured by ropes. Modern drum makers might make metal hoops for tensioning the head, ensuring the correct diameter and strength for the specific drum.

Sieve and riddle making:

A sifter or sieve was traditionally made with a wooden hoop enclosing a woven mesh of horsehair or wire. A hooper's skills would be needed to craft the strong, perfectly round wooden ring that formed the sieve's frame. A similar, coarser-meshed tool called a riddle was also constructed this way.

General vessel making:

While coopers made large, liquid-tight containers, other craftspeople made smaller wooden vessels that also relied on hoops. These items would be made by a "white cooper." Examples include:

• Tubs and buckets for household use.

• Butter churns.

• Small storage containers, like powder kegs.

Decorative or ornamental craft:

In some cases, a hooper's skills could be used for more decorative purposes, where bending and shaping materials were the primary objectives. Examples include:

• Decorative hoops and rings: The skill of bending metal or wood could be applied to creating decorative rings or spheres, such as those made from embroidery hoops for home décor.

• Dreamcatchers: The use of crafting hoops for items like dreamcatchers uses the same principles of bending and securing a circular frame.