When the ancestors of the Cottey family arrived in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, they brought their name with them. It is a name for a person who held the religious office of Arch Deacon.
The surname Cottey was first found in the counties of Cornwall and Devon where they settled soon after the Norman Conquest of England by Duke William of Normandy in 1066 A.D. In Norman, the family name was Archidiacne, which seriously questions the popular concept that the family name is derived from the office of Archdeacon.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cottey research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1619 and 1690 are included under the topic Early Cottey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Archdeacon, Archdekin, Archdekyne, Arcedeckne, Archdecon, Archdicken, Ercadkne, Erchdeacon, Erchdekine, Archdeakin and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Cottey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Cottey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Cottey or a variant listed above: