Cossam History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Cossam family

The surname Cossam was first found in Hampshire where the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Cosham, held by Geofrey, a Norman noble, from Hugh de Port who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Today Cosham is a suburb of Portsmouth, but back in early times, the Domesday Book the place name was known as Coseham 1 and literally meant "homestead or enclosure of a man called Cossa." 2

Alternatively the name could have originated from the root name Cosh and in his case, it was from the Middle English "cosche, cosshe" which meant "small cottage, hut, hovel." 3

In this latter scenario, the first record of the family was Robert Cosh who was listed in Leicestershire temp. Edward I. About the same time, Lucas de la Kosche was listed in the Assize Rolls for Essex in 1248 and Roger de Coyssh was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296. 3

Early History of the Cossam family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cossam research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1248, 1296, 1554, 1572, 1576 and 1624 are included under the topic Early Cossam History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cossam Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cosham, Gosham, Cosh, Coyish, Coysh, Cossam, Cossum, Coshum, Goshem, Coshem, Coshalme, Cossam and many more.

Early Notables of the Cossam family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Stephen Gosson (1554-1624), English author, 'a Kentish man,' admitted scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 4 April 1572. "He graduated B.A. at the...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cossam Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cossam migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cossam Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Cossam, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 4

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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)