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Piper Family History

Piper Surname Meaning

English (mainly southern): occupational name for a player on the pipes Middle English pipere sometimes a paid town musician. English: sometimes a variant of Peppard.

English: perhaps occasionally an occupational name from late Middle English piper ‘repairer or layer of pipes; plumber’. North German and Dutch: variant of Pieper a cognate of 1 above.

In North America this surname may also be an altered form of the more common Dutch variant Pijper.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Piper family from?

You can see how Piper families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Piper family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Piper families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 1,204 Piper families living in London. This was about 22% of all the recorded Piper's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Piper families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Piper surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Piper ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Piper. 6% of Piper men worked as a General Labourer and 67% of Piper women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Piper were Builders Labourer and Housewife.

View Census Data for Piper | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    6%
  • Bricklayer
    4%
  • Gardener
    3%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    67%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    3%
  • Housewife
    3%

What Piper family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 250,000 census records available for the last name Piper. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Piper census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Piper

Passenger Lists

There are 20,000 immigration records available for the last name Piper. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Piper immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 35,000 military records available for the last name Piper. For the veterans among your Piper ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Piper military records

You've only scratched the surface of Piper family history

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What is the average Piper lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Piper life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 1996. The average life expectancy for Piper in 1940 was 35, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Piper

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Piper ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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