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Cott History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Cott History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

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

Early Origins of the Cott family

The surname Cott 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 Cott family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cott 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 Cott History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cott Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous spelling alterations depending on the region and time it was used. The early development of the French language relied heavily on borrowing elements and grammar from other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Cott 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 Cott 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 Co...

Cott migration to the United States +

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Cott has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Cott were

Cott Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Conrad Cott, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 2

Cott Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Cott, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County Pennsylvania in 1853 2

Cott migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cott Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Stephen Cott, English convict who was convicted in Winchester, Hampshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 30th September 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 3

Cott 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:

Cott Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Elizabeth Cott, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Blue Jacket" in 1865

Contemporary Notables of the name Cott (post 1700) +

William H. Van Cott, American politician, Representative from New York 12th District, 1874 4
William G. Van Cott, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Albany, New York, 1922 4
Richard Van Cott, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 5th District, 1897; Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 8th District, 1900 4
Joshua M. Van Cott, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1868 4
George E. Van Cott, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1961-72 4
David C. Van Cott, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 2nd District, 1873 4
Daniel M. Van Cott, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 23rd District, 1884 4
Cornelius Van Cott, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Senate 8th District, 1888-89; Postmaster at New York City, New York, 1889-93, 1897-1904 4
John C. Cott, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1916 5
Gerard Cott (1940-2023), Irish Fine Gael politician and secondary teacher

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html