It is named for the Cupey tree, sometimes spelled copey (Clusia rosea), which is indigenous to the Caribbean.

Linguistically, cupey or copey most likely come from the Taino language (cubey) and might or might not share a lexical relation to the name Cuba.

In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Cupey barrio was 1,834.

TV personality and astrologer, Walter Mercado, is buried at Señorial Memorial Park in Cupey.

It is bound to the north by the San Juan barrios of El Cinco along State Road PR-176, and by Sabana Llana Sur in the Venus Gardens neighborhood.