The lineage of the name Cottington begins with the
Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they 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 Cottington 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 Cottington family
The surname Cottington 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) 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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8) "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]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. One of the first records of the name was Robertus de Cotyngham who was listed in the
Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379.
[4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Cottington family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cottington research.
Another 133 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1300, 1370, 1349, 1356, 1579, 1652 and 1635 are included under the topic Early Cottington History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cottington Spelling Variations
Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Cottington has undergone many
spelling variations, including Cottingham, Cotingham, Cattingham, Catingham and others.
Early Notables of the Cottington family (pre 1700)
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...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cottington Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Cottington family to the New World and Oceana
To escape the unstable social climate in
England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Cottington were among those contributors:
Cottington Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Georg Cottington, who arrived in Virginia in 1636 [5]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Contemporary Notables of the name Cottington (post 1700)
- Gordon Cottington (1911-1996), Scottish rugby union and rugby league player