Courten History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Courten name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Courten was originally derived from a family having lived in the township of Cuerden, which is in the parish of Leyland in the county of Lancashire. The surname Courten belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

The Kearton variant hails from the hamlet so named in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. 1 This place dates back to the 13th century when it was known as Karretan and possibly meant "farmstead of a man called Kaerir," a Viking personal name. 2

Early Origins of the Courten family

The surname Courten was first found in Lancashire in the village and civil parish of Cuerden in the Borough of Chorley. The village has remained small over the years as a recent census showed only 77 people living there. The place name derives its name from the Welsh word cerdin.

Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou), born in Normandy originally held the lands shortly after the Conquest. Cuerden Hall is a country mansion built around 1717 on a site of a previous manor home.

Early History of the Courten family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Courten research. Another 44 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1568, 1572, 1581, 1601, 1604, 1608, 1620, 1636, 1642, 1655 and 1702 are included under the topic Early Courten History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Courten Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Courten include Cuerden, Cuerton and others.

Early Notables of the Courten family

Distinguished members of the family include

John Cuerden a prominent landholder in 17th century Lancashire. Sir William Courten or Curteene (1572-1636), was an English merchant, the son of William Courten, by his wife Margaret Casiere, and was...
William Courten (1642-1702), was an English naturalist, grandson of Sir William Courten, and son of William Courten, who died insolvent at Florence in 1655, was born in London on 28 March 1642. 3

Courten migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Courten Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Gerrit Courten, aged 21, who arrived in New York in 1641 4

Courten Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mr. Courten, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 4

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)