Show ContentsCoer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Coer reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Coer family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Coer family lived in Norfolk. The family was originally from Cochett in Calvados, Normandy, and it is from their residence in this location that the name derives.

Early Origins of the Coer family

The surname Coer was first found in Norfolk where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Coer family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coer research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1631 and 1676 are included under the topic Early Coer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coer Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Cocket, Cockett and others.

Early Notables of the Coer family

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Coer family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Coer name or one of its variants: Arthur Cocket who settled in Virginia in 1654; along with his brothers Henry and James; Francis, Henry and John Cockett settled in Virginia in 1730; Ralph Cockett arrived in New England in 1701..


Contemporary Notables of the name Coer (post 1700) +

  • J. Edward Coer, American politician, First Selectman of Southbury, Connecticut, 1947 1


  1. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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