Show ContentsCordy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Cordy was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. Cordy is a name for a maker or purveyor of cord or ribbon. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old French word corde, which means cord.

In some cases an English local name, also a form of Cardon. The Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae notes Ralph, Richard, Robert, Paganus Cardon, or Cardun, were of Normandy, 1180-95. 1

Early Origins of the Cordy family

The surname Cordy was first found in Essex where William Cardon or Cardun appears in the Domesday Book as one of the homines of Geoffrey de Magnaville. 2

"In 1165 the family was seated in Hants, Norfolk, Beds, and Lincoln, temp. John in Bucks; and 1325, Adam Cardun was M.P. for Nottinghamshire. " 1

Carden in Cheshire is "a township, in the parish of Tilston, union of Great Boughton, Higher division of the hundred of Broxton. A detachment of dragoons from the parliamentary garrison at Nantwich, on the 12th of June, 1643, plundered Carden Hall, and made its owner, John Leche, Esq., a prisoner." 3

The Carden Baronetcy, of Templemore in the County of Tipperary was originally from Cheshire, England, but settled at Templemore in County Tipperary around 1650.

Later some of the family were found in Worcestershire as Robert Corduan held a family seat in that shire in 1221. 4

The Carden Baronetcy, of Wimpole Street in the County of Middlesex and of Molesey in the County of Surrey was created for Sir Robert Walter Carden, 1st Baronet (1801-1888), Lord Mayor of London from 1857 to 1858.

Early History of the Cordy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cordy research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1327 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cordy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cordy Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Cordon, Cordin, Corden, Cordwin, Cording, Cordwane, Cordwaner, Cordiner, Cordwent, Cordner, Cordiner, Cordwiner, Cordwinner, Cordwainer and many more.

Early Notables of the Cordy family

More information is included under the topic Early Cordy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cordy family to Ireland

Some of the Cordy family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Cordy migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Cordy or a variant listed above:

Cordy Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Cordy, who landed in Virginia in 1648 5
Cordy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Eakin Cordy, aged 24, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 5

Cordy migration to Australia +

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

Cordy Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • John Cordy, English convict from Gloucester, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 29, 1828, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Cordy (post 1700) +

  • Theodore Cordy Freeman (1930-1964), American test pilot and former NASA astronuat 7
  • Cordy Ryman (b. 1971), American artist based in New York City, son of artist Robert Ryman (1930-2019)
  • Cordy Tindell Vivian (1924-2020), American minister, author, and close friend and lieutenant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movemen


  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. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. 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)
  6. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1828 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1828
  7. NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2011, January 19) Theodore Freeman. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/freeman-tc.html


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