Coch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The notable Coch family arose among the Cornish People, a race with a rich Celtic heritage and an indomitable fighting spirit who inhabited the southwest of England. While surnames were well-known during the English medieval period, Cornish People originally used only a single name. The way in which hereditary surnames came into common use is interesting. As the population of medieval Europe multiplied, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Patronymic surnames were derived from given names and were the predominant type of surname among the Celtic peoples of Britain. However, the people of Cornwall provide a surprising exception to this rule, and patronymic surnames are less common among them than other people of Celtic stock, such as their Welsh neighbors. This is due to the greater influence of English bureaucracy and naming practices in Cornwall at the time that surnames first arose. This type of surname blended perfectly with the prevailing Feudal System. One feature that is occasionally found in Cornish surnames of this type is the suffix -oe or -ow; this is derived from the Cornish plural suffix -ow. is a patronymic surname that came from the Welsh personal name which occurred variously as Corc, Gouch, or Coch and is of uncertain origin. It is said to have been born by an early chieftain of the area.

Early Origins of the Coch family

The surname Coch was first found in Cornwall where they had been anciently seated from about the 11th century, some say even before the Norman Conquest of England by Duke William in 1066. Although, on the surface, there seems to be an immediate connection with the city of Cork in southern Ireland, historians believe this to be an old Celtic surname descended from Corc, Gouch or Coch, a chieftain of some renown who lived prior to the 11th century and was probably Welsh.

Early History of the Coch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coch research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1580 is included under the topic Early Coch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coch Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Cork, Corke, Corc, Corr, Coch, Gough and others.

Early Notables of the Coch family

More information is included under the topic Early Coch Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coch migration to the United States +

An examination into the immigration and passenger lists has discovered a number of people bearing the name Coch:

Coch Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jurg Coch, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1727 aboard the ship "James Goodwill" 1
Micharl Coch, aged 33, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 1
Hendrick Coch, aged 23, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1738 1
Henrick Coch, aged 23, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 1
Johanes Coch, aged 78, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1738 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Coch Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jose Coch, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1860 1

Coch migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Coch Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

George Coch, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757

Coch migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Coch Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

M. Coch, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Excelsior" in 1870 2
Wilhelm Coch, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Excelsior" in 1870 2

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 4th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html