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The ancestors of the bearers of the Cockrum family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in Carcroft, a hamlet in the parish of Owston in Yorkshire.
The surname Cockrum was first found in South Yorkshire, at Carcroft, a rural village part of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The earliest record of the village was in the 12th century when it was listed as Kercroft and literally meant "enclosure near the marsh" having derived from the Old Scandinavian word "kjarr" + and the Old English word "croft." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cockrum research. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1272, 1296, 1379 and 1764 are included under the topic Early Cockrum History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Cockrum include Cockcroft, Cocckecroft, Carrecroft, Calcraft, Chalcraft, Choldcorft, Cracroft, Chalcroft and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Cockrum Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Cockrum is the 14,372nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Cockrum or a variant listed above: