Cropper is an unincorporated community within Shelby County, Kentucky, United States.

The origin of its name comes from the town's founder James Cropper, a blacksmith and store keeper who was the first person to build a house there sometime in the 1790s.

The majority of Cropper's original citizens were members of the Low Dutch colony who were in the area as early as 1786.

In 1855, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L and N) along with a depot opened on the east end of town.

An 1882 map shows the first school in Cropper which was a large two-story building with grades one through twelve.