Contents [hide]

Cottingham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Cottingham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Cottingham first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in either of two places called Cottingham. One was a parish near Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and the other is a parish located two miles from Rockingham in the county of Northampton. Thus, the surname Cottingham belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Cottingham family

The surname Cottingham was first found in Yorkshire at Cottingham, a village and civil parish in the East Riding which dates back to the Domesday Book when it was listed as Cotingeham. "This place is of considerable antiquity, and was known as of some importance when Domesday Book was compiled. Leland, in his Collectanea, states that William d'Estoteville or Stuteville, Sheriff of Yorkshire, entertained King John here, and obtained from that monarch, in the year 1200, permission to hold a market and fair, and to embattle and fortify his residence." 1

The place name literally means "homestead of the family or followers of a man called Cott or Cotta" derived from the Old English personal name + inga + ham. 2

Baynard Castle, sometimes named "castle at Cottingham" or "Stuteville's castle" was a moated castle built in the 12th and 13th centuries in the village. Sarum Manor is located in the southern half of the ruins of castle. The Northamptonshire Cottingham was similarly listed with the same spelling in the Domesday Book. 3

"A massive ring of pure gold was found in 1841, on the borders of Rockingham Forest, apparently of great antiquity, and in good preservation; it is inscribed in Saxon characters with legends supposed to be of talismanic character, and was probably worn as an amulet." 1

One of the first records of the name was Robertus de Cotyngham who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 4

Early History of the Cottingham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cottingham research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1349, 1350, 1356, 1370, 1578, 1579, 1631, 1635 and 1652 are included under the topic Early Cottingham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cottingham Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Cottingham has appeared include Cottingham, Cotingham, Cattingham, Catingham and others.

Early Notables of the Cottingham family

Notables of the family at this time include

Thomas de Cottingham (c. 1300-1370), an English cleric and judge ho toook his name from his birth place at Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Keeper of the Great Seal in 1349 and Master of the Roll...

Cottingham Ranking

In the United States, the name Cottingham is the 6,001^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Cottingham migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Cottingham arrived in North America very early:

Cottingham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Cottingham, aged 20, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Primrose" 6

Cottingham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Cottingham, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1856
James Cottingham, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1860 6
Septimus, Thomas, and Edward, Cottingham, all, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1870

Cottingham migration to Australia +

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

Cottingham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Cottingham, aged 29, a plumber, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Ascendant" 7
Miss Maria Cottingham who was convicted in Guildford, Surrey, England for 7 years , transported aboard the "Aurora" on 22nd April 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Cottingham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Cottingham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Wolfram Cottingham, (b. 1817), aged 35, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "True Briton" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th February 1853 9
Mrs. Rosina Elizabeth Cottingham née Haselden, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "True Briton" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th February 1853 9

Cottingham migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Cottingham Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Catherine Cottingham, who arrived in Jamaica in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Cottingham (post 1700) +

Bob Cottingham (b. 1966), American fencer at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics
Laura Cottingham (b. 1959), American art critic curator and visual artist
Robert Cottingham (b. 1935), American Photorealist painter
Claybrook C. Cottingham (1881-1949), American educator, 3rd President of Louisiana College (1910-1941), 10th President of Louisiana Tech (1941-1949)
G. R. Cottingham, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Presidential Elector for Virginia, 1920 11
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787-1847), English architect and antiquary, born at Laxfield, Suffolk, 24 Oct. 1787, was the son of a farmer of an ancient and respectable family 12
John Cottingham, English philosopher, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Reading
William McOvat Cottingham (1905-1983), Canadian politician, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Argenteuil (1948-1966)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ASCENDANT 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Ascendant.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020