Raper
An English occupational surname meaning a rope-maker or roper.
The #6,952 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,989 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Raper is an occupational surname for someone who made ropes. The form goes back to Middle English and is linked with Old English rāp, meaning “rope,” influenced by Old Norse reip, also “rope,” plus the agent suffix -er. In older records it appears in northern England, where the occupation-based surname was common.
History
Historical forms are recorded in Yorkshire and other northern English records by the 14th century. The surname is essentially a northern English equivalent of Roper, and both names reflect the same trade. Later bearers spread beyond England, including to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1379 Yorkshire Poll Tax record cites Willelmus Raper, showing the surname in use more than 600 years ago.
From the historical record
“RANT, an unvoiced form of Rand, q.v. RAPER (N.Eng.) Roper, Rope-Maker [M.E. raper ; O.E, rdp = O.N. reip, a rope + the agent, suff. -ere] Wjllelmus Raper, raper. — Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. i3jg. RAPHAEL (Heb.) Healed of Gob [Heb. R'phaM — rdphd, to heal ; El, God] RAPKIN = Ralph (q.v.) -\- the E. dim. suff. -kin.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)