Cauthen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Cauthen is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in Cawthorn, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, or in Cawthorne, in the West Riding. While the names are superficially similar,their origins are different.

The village of Cawthorn was rendered as Caluetun in the Domesday Book, 1 and is derived from the Old English terms calf and tun, which means calf and enclosure, respectively. It meant the farm where calves are raised.

The village of Cawthorne's name appeared as Caltorne in the Domesday Book. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English terms cald and thorne, which mean cold and thorn tree, respectively. It meant exposed thorn tree, and probably indicated a location marked by a solitary thorn tree. 2

Early Origins of the Cauthen family

The surname Cauthen was first found in Yorkshire, where the Cauthen family held a family seat from ancient times. The first known bearer of the name was William de Calthorn, who was recorded in the 1175 in Yorkshire. The spelling of the name seems to indicate that this branch of the family originated in the West Riding village of Cawthorne, documented in the Domesday Book as "Caltorne."

Over in Lancashire, Nether Wyersdale was an ancient family seat. "The ancestors of the late John Fenton Cawthorne, Esq., M. P. for Lancaster, are said to have held a portion of Wyersdale for six or seven hundred years; and George III. once contemplated the revival of the barony of Wyersdale in the person of Mr. Cawthorne, whom he intended to create lord Wyersdale. Wyreside, an elegant mansion, has long been the residence of the Cawthorne family." 3

In nearby Over Wyersdale, a close branch of the family was found. "William Cawthorne, in 1683, gave a school-house, with a messuage, some land, and a rent-charge of £15, for which 30 boys are instructed; and another school has an allowance of £20 per annum from the Society of Friends." 3

Early History of the Cauthen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cauthen research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1175, 1273, 1379, 1605, 1637, 1659, 1719, 1761 and 1788 are included under the topic Early Cauthen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cauthen Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Cauthen family name include Cawthorn, Cawthorne, Cauthorn, Cauthorne, Cawtharne, Cothern, Cothern, Cawthern and many more.

Early Notables of the Cauthen family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Cawton, the elder (1605-1659), an English clergyman of Presbyterian and Royalist views. He "was born at Rainham, Norfolk, in 1605. was born at Rainham, Norfolk, in 1605. He was sent to Queens' College, Cambridge, by Sir Roger Townshend, and became so remarkable for his piety, that profane scholars used 'Cawtonist' as 'Simeonite' or 'Puseyite' were used more recently...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cauthen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cauthen Ranking

In the United States, the name Cauthen is the 7,424^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Cauthen family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Cauthen surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Richard Cawthorne, who settled in Virginia in 1681; Jacob Cawthorn, who immigrated to Virginia in 1719; Charles Cawthorne, a convict who arrived in Maryland in 1720.

Contemporary Notables of the name Cauthen (post 1700) +

Wayne A. Cauthen (b. 1955), the first appointed African-American City Manager in Kansas City, Missouri
Terrance Davin "Heat" Cauthen (1976-1996), American bronze medalist boxer at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Steve Cauthen (1960-1984), retired American jockey with 2,794 wins, recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1984, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1994
William Columbus Cauthen (1824-1865), American politician, Delegate to South Carolina secession convention, 1860 5
John K. Cauthen, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from South Carolina, 1956 5

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html