Cotterel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Cotterel is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Cotterel family when they migrated with the great wave that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. Cotterel is a name for a serf or bond tenant who held a cottage by service. The name is derived from the Old English cote, which means "shelter," or "cottage."

Early Origins of the Cotterel family

The surname Cotterel was first found in Derbyshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Important Dates for the Cotterel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cotterel research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1691, 1572, 1631, 1621, 1624, 1624, 1615, 1701, 1641, 1654, 1710, 1686 and 1758 are included under the topic Early Cotterel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cotterel Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years the English language had no fixed system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations occurred commonly in Anglo Norman surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Cotterel were recorded, including Cotterell, Cotterel, Cotteral, Cotteril, Cotterill, Cottral, Cottrall, Cottrell, Cottrel, Coterall, Coterel, Coteril, Coterill, Cotrall, Cotrell, Cottrle, Cotral, Cotraul, Cotrelly and many more.

Early Notables of the Cotterel family (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Cotterell DCL (died 1572), from Wiltshire, an English clergyman and academic at the University of Oxford, one of the founding fellows of Jesus College, Oxford; Sir Clement Cotterell (died 1631), an English courtier and politician, Member of Parliament for Grantham (1621-1624) and for Boston in...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cotterel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cotterel migration to the United States

The unstable environment in England at this time caused numerous families to board ships and leave in search of opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad in places like Ireland, Australia, and particularly the New World. The voyage was extremely difficult, however, and only taken at great expense. The cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels caused many to arrive diseased and starving, not to mention destitute from the enormous cost. Still opportunity in the emerging nations of Canada and the United States was far greater than at home and many went on to make important contributions to the cultures of their adopted countries. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Cotterel arrived in North America very early: