Cockales History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The name Cockales is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. Cockales was a name used for a person with a dark complexion. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word col, which meant dark.

Early Origins of the Cockales family

The surname Cockales was first found in Somerset or Wiltshire at Cole. The Somerset hamlet is in the parish of Pitcomb, union of Wincanton, hundred of Bruto; while the Wiltshire parish is in the union, and hundred of Malmesbury, Malmesbury and Kingswood. 1

"Essentially south of England names, especially in the south - west, rarely occurring north of a line drawn west from the Wash. Cole is best distributed and has its principal homes in Devon and Wiltshire. Coles is most numerous in Somerset. Both names, strangely enough, are rare in Cornwall. Cole was a very ancient Teutonic name; there are places of the name in Somerset and Wiltshire, a circumstance that may perhaps explain the frequency of both names in Somerset and of Cole in Wiltshire." 2

Much farther to the north in Scotland, the name was "one of the many forms assumed by the name Macdowall." 3

Early History of the Cockales family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cockales research. Another 43 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1608, 1616, 1617, 1640, 1650, 1659, 1660, 1676, 1680, 1688, 1697, 1773 and 1843 are included under the topic Early Cockales History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cockales Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Cockales include Coles, Coals and others.

Early Notables of the Cockales family

Distinguished members of the family include Elisha Coles (ca 1608-1688), an English lexicographer and stenographer, chorister of Magdalen College, Oxford His nephew Elisha Coles (1640?-1680), was a lexicographer and stenographer, son of John Coles, schoolmaster of Wolverhampton. 4 Gilbert Coles (1617-1676), was an English divine, son of Edmund Coles, priest...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cockales Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cockales family to Ireland

Some of the Cockales family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cockales family

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Cockales were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Robert Coles who settled in Warwick, coming with Winthrop's fleet to Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1630. He was made a freeman in 1631. He was one of the original purchasers of Warwick, and the Providence Plantations in Rhode Island..

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print