Explore the Family Name Soper

The meaning of Soper

English (Devon): occupational name from Middle English soper(e), sap(i)ere ‘soaper, maker or seller of soap’ (Old English sāpere, apparently of Celtic origin). The process involved boiling oil or fat together with potash or soda.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Soper in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Soper has experienced a slight decline from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 4976, while in 2010, its rank had slipped to 5420, representing an 8.92 percent decrease. The count of people with this last name also decreased by 0.9 percent during this period, shifting from 6479 to 6421. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals carrying the Soper name per 100,000 dropped by 9.17 percent from 2.4 in 2000 to 2.18 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#4,976#5,420-8.92%
Count6,4796,421-0.9%
Proportion per 100k2.42.18-9.17%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Soper

Regarding ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows that most bearers of the Soper surname identify as White, with a slightly reduced percentage from 96.08 in 2000 to 94.74 in 2010. However, there has been notable growth in other ethnic groups. The percentage identifying as Hispanic increased from 1.20 to 2.18, marking an 81.67 percent change, and those identifying as Black more than doubled, moving from 0.22 to 0.47. The percentage identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native also rose from 0.42 to 0.73, which is a 73.81 percent increase. On the other hand, the number of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying with two or more races fell by 28.85 percent and 3.21 percent respectively.

20002010Change
White96.08%94.74%-1.39%
Hispanic1.2%2.18%81.67%
Two or More Races1.56%1.51%-3.21%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.42%0.73%73.81%
Black0.22%0.47%113.64%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.52%0.37%-28.85%

Soper ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Soper is British & Irish, which comprises 51.3% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (27.2%) and Eastern European (5.2%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Greek & Balkan, and Ashkenazi Jewish.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish51.3%
French & German27.2%
Eastern European5.2%
Other16.2%
Soper

Possible origins of the surname Soper

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Soper have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Glasgow City, United Kingdom86.20%
Greater London, United Kingdom86.20%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom86.20%
Merseyside, United Kingdom85.70%
West Midlands, United Kingdom85.70%

What Soper haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Soper is I-Z138, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z138 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include I-M253 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Crews, Kellogg, Barrows, Beach, Echols, Seale, Gorham, Searcy, Vest, Baggett.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Soper surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

soperPaternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton

Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Soper have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Soper

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Soper" Surname 35.0%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Soper

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Soper" Surname 30.6%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Soper

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Soper" Surname 22.2%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Soper

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Soper" Surname 18.8%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Soper?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Soper are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%