Hope
A surname that usually means someone who lived by a sloping hollow or valley, from an old place-name sense of “hope.”
The #2,052 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,580 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In surname use, Hope is usually taken from an old topographical word meaning a sloping hollow, small valley, or enclosed dip between hills. This is the same element found in many British place-names, especially in northern England and Scotland. As a surname, it was adopted by people who lived near such a feature or came from a place called Hope.
History
The name appears in several English and Scottish place-names, so it could arise independently in more than one district. Historical surname forms include De Hope and De la Hope, reflecting both simple residence “at Hope” and “of the valley/hollow.” Related surnames such as Hoper and Hooper were also recorded in older sources, though their histories can overlap with other names and occupations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers explicitly linked Hope with the landscape word for a hollow between hills, and noted that the same element shows up in names like Hopekirk and Hopewell.
From the historical record
“and Chester. HOPE. 1. Parishes, &c., in cos. Derby, York, Flint, Kent, Salop, Hereford, &c. 2. A topographical expression, meaning a sloping hollow between two hills, " petite vallee entre des montagnes." Jamieson. " The side of an hill." Camden. Hence the surnames Hope, Hoper, and Hooper, as well as Hopekirk…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom