Copenhaver
A German surname probably meaning “one from Kopenhofen/Kopenhof,” later reshaped in American spelling.
The #8,046 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,066 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is commonly explained as a German place-based name, with the historical form given as Kopenhofer and later anglicized to Copenhaver. The first element likely refers to a local place name or farmstead, while the ending -hof/-hofer points to a homestead, farm, or someone from such a place. In this older interpretation, the name would mean something like “person from the Kopenhof/Kopenhofen farm.”
History
The excerpted source treats Copenhaver as an Americanized spelling of a German surname, showing how immigrant names were often respelled to fit English spelling and pronunciation. This kind of change was especially common in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The surname is relatively uncommon but is established in American records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname references sometimes link Copenhaver to the German form Kopenhofer, illustrating how a single immigrant name could take on several spellings in English-speaking records.
From the historical record
“Coover = Kober, Copenhaver = Kopenhofer, Coppersmith = Kupferschmidt, Correll, p. 319”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names