The surname of COPELAND was a locational name 'of Copland' in the parish of Kirk Newton, County Cumberland. There is also a district in Cumberland bearing the name. Local names usually denoted where the original bearer lived and held his land. The earliest of the name on record appears to be William de Copland who was a witness to a charter in 1160. Thomas de Coupland held a land in the village of Greenlaw in 1200. John de Coupland was the hero of the battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, when he took David II prisoner. The rise of surnames, according to the accepted theory, was due to the Norman Conquest of 1066 when Old English personal-names were rapidly superseded by the new christian names introduced by the Normans. Of these, only a few were really popular and in the 12th century this scarcity of christian names led to the increasing use of surnames to distinguish the numerous individuals of the same name. Some Normans had hereditary surnames before they came to England, but there is evidence that surnames would have developed in England even had there been no Norman Conquest. The development of the feudal system made it essential that the king should know exactly what service each person owed. Payments to and by the exchequer required that debtors and creditors should be particularized, and it became official that each individual acquired exact identification. A notable member of the name was William Taylor Copeland (1797-1868) the English china manufacturer, born at Stoke, the son of William Copeland who was the partner of Spode. He managed the Spode concerns in Stoke and London, later gaining control, and from 1846 onwards produced Parian (imitation marble) statuettes and bone china. He invented a filter press for working clay, and was one of the founders of the North Staffordshire Railway. In 1835, he was Lord Mayor of London, and from 1837 until 1852 and 1857 to 1865 was the MP for Stoke-on-Trent. The name has many variants which include Copeland, and Coupeland. The associated arms are recorded in Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Arms registered to Benjamin Copeland of Belnagan, County Meath in 1744.
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