Contents [hide]

Cockerell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Cockerell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Cockerell reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Cockerell family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Cockerell 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 Cockerell family

The surname Cockerell 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 Cockerell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cockerell 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 Cockerell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cockerell Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Cockerell family name include Cockerell, Cockerill, Cockrill, Cockrell and others.

Early Notables of the Cockerell 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 crea...
Charles Robert Cockerell (1788-1863), the English architect was the son of Samuel Pepys Cockerell [q. v.], architect was born in London on 28 April 1788. He received his earliest education at a privat...
Frederick Pepys Cockerell (1833-1878), the English architect was the second son of Charles Robert Cockerell [q. v.] and was born at 87 Eaton Square in March 1833. 3

Migration of the Cockerell family to Ireland

Some of the Cockerell 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.

Cockerell migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Cockerell family to immigrate North America:

Cockerell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Tho Cockerell, who landed in Virginia in 1658 4

Cockerell migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cockerell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

George Cockerell, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Sea Queen" 5
George Cockerell, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sea Queen" in 1850 5

Cockerell migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6

Cockerell Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Cockerell who settled in Barbados in 1639
Nicholas Cockerell who settled in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Cockerell (post 1700) +

Wilmatte Porter Cockerell (1869-1957), American botanist, entomologist and teacher
Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell (1866-1948), English-born, American zoologist, brother of Sydney Cockerell
Mark Wayne Cockerell (b. 1962), American former figure skater, World Junior Figure Skating Champion in 1976
W. S. Cockerell, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Colorado, 1888 7
Toby Cockerell (b. 1976), English actor, best known for his role as Scott Windsor in ITV's Emmerdale from 1993-1996
Sir Charles Cockerell (b. 1837), 1st Baronet of Sezincote, an English peer
John Cockerell (1845-1937), English amateur footballer who played for England in two of the unofficial football matches against Scotland in 1870 and 1871
Sir Sydney Carlyle Cockerell (1867-1962), English museum curator and collector, director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (1908-1937)
Charles Robert Cockerell (1788-1863), English architect, third child of Samuel Pepys Cockerell
Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1754-1827), English architect
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SEA QUEEN 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850SeaQueen.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html