Contents [hide]

Coull History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Coull History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

The tale of the name Coull begins with a family who lived in Coull, a parish, in the district of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen. "This place is supposed to have taken its name, which signifies a "corner," from its situation in the south-eastern extremity of the district of Cromar." 1

Early Origins of the Coull family

The surname Coull was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), where one of the first records of the family was "William de Cull [who] was one of the witnesses to a charter by John, Earl of Huntington to Norman filius Malcolm of the lands of Lesslyn etc., between 1219-1237." 2

Coull Castle was an 13th-century castle to the south of Coull. Only traces of the castle can be found today.

Some of the first records of the family in Scotland include: John Cowl who possessed a tenement in Glasgow in 1458, and Sir John Cowill, a cleric, was witness in Aberdeen, 1567. Patrick Coule at Newburgh is mentioned in the Lindores Chartulary in 1479. David Cowle, a native of Scotland, had letters of naturalization in England in 1481, and in the same year Alexander Coule was admitted burgess of Aberdeen." 2

Further south in northern England, the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1332 listed John de Couhill, of Rishton, Lancashire; and John de Coule, of Blackburn, Lancashire, 1332. 3

"The Cowells of Lancashire probably take their name from Cowhill, a district and seat in Lancashire." 4

Early History of the Coull family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coull research. Another 173 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1219, 1479, 1481, 1554, 1567, 1570 and 1611 are included under the topic Early Coull History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coull Spelling Variations

Before the first dictionaries appeared in the last few hundred years, scribes spelled according to sound. spelling variations are common among Scottish names. Coull has been spelled Coull, Coul, Cowill, Cowell, Cull, Cowles, Cowl, Cowle and many more.

Early Notables of the Coull family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coull Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coull migration to the United States +

In those unstable times, many had no choice but to leave their beloved homelands. Sickness and poverty hounded travelers to North America, but those who made it were welcomed with land and opportunity. These settlers gave the young nations of Canada and the United States a strong backbone as they stood up for their beliefs as United Empire Loyalists and in the American War of Independence. In this century, the ancestors of these brave Scots have begun to recover their illustrious heritage through Clan societies and other heritage organizations. Early passenger and immigration lists reveal many Scottish settlers bearing the name Coull:

Coull Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francis Coull, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1856

Coull Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Alex D. Coull, aged 23, who landed in America from Montrose, Scotland, in 1909
Alexander Coull, aged 25, who settled in America from Morayshire, Scotland, in 1909
Charles Coull, aged 26, who landed in America from Montrose, Scotland, in 1909
Charles Coull, aged 28, who settled in America from Aberchirker, Scotland, in 1910
Clementina Coull, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States from Arbroath, Scotland, in 1911
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Coull migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Coull Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

James Coull, who arrived in Antigua (Antego) in 1773 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Coull (post 1700) +

Gary Coull (1954-2006), Canadian-born, American co-founder and chairman of CLSA, a brokerage house
Dr George Coull FRSE (1862-1936), Scottish pharmaceutical chemist, Managing Director of Raimes Clark & Co
Cynthia Coull (b. 1965), former Canadian singles and pairs figure skater
Roger Coull, first violin of the English string quartet "The Coull Quartet"

The Coull Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Cole Deum
Motto Translation: Worship God.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)