Soper
An English occupational surname meaning “soap-maker” or “soap-boiler.”
The #5,420 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,084 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Soper comes from Middle English oper(e), an occupational name for a maker or seller of soap. It is based on Middle English sope, from Old English s9pe, plus the agent suffix -er. The name therefore meant, quite literally, “soap-maker.”
History
Medieval records already show the surname in forms such as Julian le Sopere. English surname books also note related spellings like Savoner, reflecting the same trade. The name continued into later centuries and is now found in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical source notes that in Aberdeenshire a soap-maker was still called a “soaper,” preserving the old occupational sense in local speech.
From the historical record
“SOOLE, a var. of Sole, q.v. SOPER (Eng.) Soap-Maker [M.E. soper(e; M.E. sope, O.E. sdpe, soap + the agent. suff. -«•(«] Julian le Sopere. — Hund. Rolls. |OR^)v.Soar(e. SORBEY] (Scand.) Bel. to i Sowerby SORBY WYorks^: 14th cent. Saureby,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)