Show ContentsCoutie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Coutie

What does the name Coutie mean?

Today's generation of the Coutie family inherits a name that was first used by the Scottish tribe known as the Picts. The first family to use the name Coutie lived in Cults in Aberdeenshire where the name can be found since very early times.

Early Origins of the Coutie family

The surname Coutie was first found in Aberdeenshire. The name is "a common surname in Upper Deeside. Richard de Cotis appears as a landowner in Elgyn, 1343. In 1392 John de Cowtis and Donald de Cowtis were put to the horn as part guilty of the slaughter of Sir Walter de Ogilvy, sheriff of Angus and others. The principal family of the name was established in the earldom of Mar, Aberdeenshire, by a Crown charter in 1433, of the lands of Ochtercoull or Auchtercoul in favor of William Coutts, his brother Alexander, their cousin John, and his brother Alexander." 1

Early History of the Coutie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coutie research. Another 439 words (31 lines of text) covering the years 1348, 1392, 1411, 1434, 1470, 1473, 1478, 1483, 1525, 1526, 1529, 1531, 1553, 1555, 1566, 1567, 1583, 1640, 1672, 1699, 1735, 1742, 1750 and 1822 are included under the topic Early Coutie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coutie Spelling Variations

Repeated and inaccurate translation of Scottish names from Gaelic to English and back resulted in a wide variety of spelling variations with single names. Coutie has appeared Coutts, Couts, Coots, Cootes, Coutt, Cout, Coot, Coote and many more.

Early Notables of the Coutie family

John Coutts (1699-1750), a British merchant and banker, Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1742. He was the "eldest son of Patrick Coutts, a tradesman in Edinburgh, and formerly of Montrose, by his wife, Christina Smith, was born on 28 July 1699. He entered into business as commission agent and dealer in grain, and rapidly acquiring capital became a negotiator of bills, a business which the banks had not yet taken up." 2 His fourth son...
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coutie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Coutie migration to the United States +

Many Scottish families suffered enormous hardships and were compelled to leave their country of birth. They traveled to Ireland and Australia, but mostly to the colonies of North America, where many found the freedom and opportunity they sought. It was not without a fight, though, as many were forced to stand up and defend their freedom in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of these Scots abroad have rediscovered their heritage in the last century through the Clan societies and other organizations that have sprung up across North America. Immigration and passenger ship lists show some important early immigrants bearing the name Coutie:

Coutie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Lieut. Coutie, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. 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)


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