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Hope Family History

Hope Name Meaning

Scottish and English: topographic name for someone who lived in or near a ‘remote enclosed place’ from Middle English and Older Scots hop(e) (Old English hop); or else a habitational name from any of several places called Hope in Cheshire Devon Derbyshire Herefordshire Kent Lancashire Shropshire and North Yorkshire. A hop most often denoted a distant secluded valley especially in the West Midlands northern England and southern Scotland but in Essex Kent and Sussex it usually referred to an enclosed piece of land or a promontory in a marsh or in wasteland. In other cases the name may refer to someone who lived at a small landlocked bay or inlet or who came from a place so named such as Stanford le Hope in Essex Middle Hope in Somerset and Hope by Bolt Head in Devon (Middle English hop(e) Old English hōp Old Norse hóp). The surname is also established in Ireland. Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads notably in Hordaland from Old Norse hóp ‘narrow bay’. Americanized form (translation into English) of French Lespérance ‘hope’ (see Lesperance ).

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


Similar surnames: Hole, Howe, Hove, Hone, Hoe, Hose, Pope, Hoye, Cope, Hoad

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Hope family from?

You can see how Hope families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hope family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hope families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 1,981 Hope families living in Lancashire. This was about 21% of all the recorded Hope's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of Hope families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Hope surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Hope 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 Hope. 10% of Hope men worked as a General Labourer and 67% of Hope women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Hope were Incapacitated and Housewife. .

View Census Data for Hope | 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
    10%
  • Farmer
    3%
  • Gardener
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    67%
  • Private Means
    3%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Housewife
    2%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Hope family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 256,000 census records available for the last name Hope. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Hope census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Hope

Passenger Lists

There are 37,000 immigration records available for the last name Hope. 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 Hope immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 41,000 military records available for the last name Hope. For the veterans among your Hope ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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You've only scratched the surface of Hope family history

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What is the average Hope lifespan?

Between 1945 and 2004, in the United States, Hope life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1948, and highest in 2003. The average life expectancy for Hope in 1945 was 33, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Hope

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