Cota History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

While the Anglicized versions of Irish names are familiar to most people, many Irish names have a long and proud Gaelic heritage that is often unknown. The original Gaelic form of the name Cota is Mac Oistigin which is probably derived from the pet form of the English name Roger, which is Hodgkin. 1

Early Origins of the Cota family

The surname Cota was first found in Leix (Irish: Laois) formerly known as Queen's County, located in central Ireland, in Leinster Province, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

The family descend through the Fitzpatrick, Princes of Ossary, line and are listed 121st in that genealogy.

"Geoffrey Baccach: his son, had a brother named Ostagan: ("osda:" Irish a host; "gan" without), a quo "Clan Ostagain," Anglicised Costigan." 2

Early History of the Cota family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cota research. Another 49 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1039 is included under the topic Early Cota History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cota Spelling Variations

Numerous spelling variations of the surname Cota exist. A partial explanation for these variants is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Costigan, Costigen, Costigin, McCostigan and others.

Early Notables of the Cota family

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

Cota Ranking

In the United States, the name Cota is the 3,030^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Cota family

Many destitute Irish families in the 18th and 19th centuries decided to leave their homeland, which had in many ways been scarred by English colonial rule. One of the most frequent destinations for these families was North America where it was possible for an Irish family to own their own parcel of land. Many of the early settlers did find land awaiting them in British North America, or even later in America, but for the majority of immigrants that arrived as a result of the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s the ownership of land was often a long way off. These Irish people were initially put to work on such industrial projects as the building of bridges, canals, and railroads, or they worked at manufacturing positions within factories. Whenever they arrived, the Irish made enormous contributions to the infant nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the earliest immigrants to bearer the name of Cota were found through extensive research of immigration and passenger lists: Michael, James, Joseph, Lawrence, Patt, Thomas (three of this name), and William Costigan, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1850 and 1870.

Contemporary Notables of the name Cota (post 1700) +

Major-General Norman Daniel Cota (1893-1971), American Commanding General 28th Division (1944-1945) 4
Major General Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota (1893-1971), United States Army officer during World War II, heavily involved in the planning and execution of the invasion of France
Humberto Cota (b. 1979), American Major League Baseball catcher
Eduardo Enrique Cota (b. 1976), American professional basketball player
Chad Garrett Cota (b. 1971), former professional American football strong safety in the NFL
Leo Cota, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Dakota, 1952 5
Alfonso Humberto Robles Cota (1931-2017), Mexican Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tepic, Mexico, from 1981 to 2008
Leonel Cota Montaño (b. 1958), Mexican former Governor of Baja California Sur (1999-2005)
Leonel Cota Montaño (b. 1958), Mexican politician

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, November 23) Norman Cota. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Cota/Norman_Daniel/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html