Show ContentsCoerill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Coerill reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Coerill family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Coerill family lived in Gloucestershire. The family was originally from Cocquerel, near Evreux, Normandy, and it is from that location that their name derives.

Early Origins of the Coerill family

The surname Coerill was first found in Gloucestershire where Illyas de Kokerel held fiefs in 1165 from Bohun and Neumarché. [1] The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list the following: Geoffrey Cokerell in Norfolk; John Cokerel in Yorkshire; and Reginald Kokerel in Cambridgeshire. [2] "In 1324 Sir William Cockerell was returned from Essex to attend a great council at Westminster." [1] The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list the following: Matilda Cokrell; Elias Cokrell and Alicia Cokerell. [2]

Early History of the Coerill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coerill research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1305, 1574, 1575, 1754, 1759, 1788, 1790, 1794, 1802, 1807, 1809, 1827, 1832, 1833, 1840, 1861, 1863 and 1878 are included under the topic Early Coerill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coerill 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 Cockerell, Cockerill, Cockrill, Cockrell and others.

Early Notables of the Coerill family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1754-1827), English architect, son of John Cockerell of Bishop's Hall, Somersetshire. He was brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, M.P., of Sezincote, Gloucestershire, who was created a Baronet in 1809. His mother was daughter of John Jackson, the nephew and heir of Samuel Pepys, and through her Cockerell became the representative, and inherited many interesting relics, of the great diarist. One of his sons was Charles Robert Cockerell [q. v.], a far more distinguished architect than his father. [3]Charles Robert Cockerell (1788-1863), the English architect was the son of Samuel Pepys...
Another 246 words (18 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coerill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Coerill family to Ireland

Some of the Coerill 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 Coerill 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 Coerill name or one of its variants: William Cockerell who settled in Barbados in 1639; followed by Nicholas who also settled in Barbados in 1678; Thomas Cockerill settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1845..



  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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