William Cropper

(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.

English (chiefly Lancashire): occupational name for a picker of fruit or vegetables or a reaper of cereal crops, from an agent derivative of Middle English cropt(en) ‘to pick’. The word was used also to denote the polling of cattle and the name may therefore have been given to someone who did this.