Show ContentsCotner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Cotner name comes from that Medieval landscape of southern France known as Languedoc. The name Cotner was originally derived from the family having lived in Languedoc, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Cotner family

The surname Cotner was first found in Languedoc, where they are recorded as one of the distinguished ancient families of that region.

The Cot or Côté family were well educated and learned people and there are many instances in the records of this. The Les Cot family of Limoges developed one of the first printing methods, with hot lead type, which they took to Paris in the 1600's. Pierre was an author of a book on the origins of printing in 1707.

Jean Pierre Cote, a noted poet, was born in Briancon in 1810. Jean-Leopold left on his death a "Dictionnaire de la législation des états sardes" in 1841. Jean André de Cot, descended from the Tournon branch of the family and, born in Briancon in 1789, campaigned against the war of the Empire, and his son Alexis was the owner of the "Journal de Tournon".

Jean Côté settled in Quebec in 1634 and married Anne Martin on 17th November 1635. Together they had five sons that carried on the family name of Côté. Jean was buried in Quebec on 28th March 1661. 1

Early History of the Cotner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cotner research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1472, 1530, 1532, 1539, 1540, 1543, 1549, 1564, 1575, 1589, 1595, 1604, 1613, 1626, 1656, 1681 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Cotner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cotner Spelling Variations

The many different spellings of French surnames can be partially explained by the use of local dialects and by the influence of other languages during the early development of the French language. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Cotner is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Côté, Cot, Cotte, Cott, Kott, Kote, Cotée, Cotet, Cotin, Coton, Cottet, Cottin, Cotton, Cotard, Cottard, Lacotte, Cotté, Cottu, Cottarel, Cottebrune, Cotner, Cottez and many more.

Early Notables of the Cotner family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Claude Cot, Treasurer of Dauphiné in 1472; Pierre Coton (1564-1626), a French Jesuit and royal confessor; Charles Cotin or Abbé Cotin (1604-1681), a French abbé, philosopher and poet; and Robert de Cotte (1656-1735), a French architect-administrator.Gaspard Coste, chorister in the cathedral of Avignon about...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cotner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cotner Ranking

In the United States, the name Cotner is the 12,245th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


United States Cotner migration to the United States +

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Cotner surname were

Cotner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • A Cotner, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
  • W Cotner, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
Cotner Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Jacob Cotner, aged 53, who settled in Mansfield, Ohio, in 1914
  • Robert A. Cotner, aged 23, who settled in America, in 1919

Contemporary Notables of the name Cotner (post 1700) +

  • Keoke Cotner (b. 1971), Mexican-born, American PGA professional golfer
  • June Cotner (b. 1950), American author, anthologist and motivational speaker


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook