Kow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Kow comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It was a name for a jackdaw. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English word coo. This was in turn derived from the Old Norse word ka, which was their word for jackdaw. Thus the original bearer of this name must have reminded his contemporaries of a jackdaw and was referred to as "Kow" as a nickname.

Early Origins of the Kow family

The surname Kow was first found in Lancashire, where the Kow family held a family seat from ancient times. The earliest known bearer of the name was Osbert Ka, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire in 1188.

Early History of the Kow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kow research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1188, 1221, 1783 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Kow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kow Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Kow has undergone many spelling variations, including Coe, Coes, Cowe, Kow, Cawe, Kowe, Coo, Ku, Koo and others.

Early Notables of the Kow family

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

Migration of the Kow family to Ireland

Some of the Kow family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kow family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Kow were among those contributors: Robert Coe, who sailed from Ipswich to Watertown on the ship Francis in 1634; Matthew Coe, who emigrated from Bristol to Portsmouth in the year 1640; Alester Cowe, who arrived in Boston, Massachussets in 1652.