First found in county Roscommon, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Thousands of Irish left in their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, and in the search of a plot of land to call their own. These immigrants arrived at the eastern shores of North America, early on settling and breaking the land, and, later, building the bridges, canals, and railroads essential to the emerging nations of United States and Canada. Many others would toil for low wages in the dangerous factories of the day. Although there had been a steady migration of Irish to North America over these years, the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Cox or a variant listed above: William McQuillie who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1804; Thomas Cox, who arrived in New York, NY in 1805; Andrew Cox, who arrived in Quebec in 1850.

Motto Translated: By fidelity and fortitude.

For more information on the last name Cox, the PDF Surname History is available for purchase as well as other products.