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Coutts History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Coutts History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The chronicles of the Coutts family reach back into Scottish history to an ancient tribe known as the Picts. The ancestors of the Coutts family lived in Cults in Aberdeenshire where the name can be found since very early times.

Early Origins of the Coutts family

The surname Coutts 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 Coutts family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coutts 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 Coutts History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coutts Spelling Variations

When the first dictionaries were invented in the last few hundred years, spelling gradually became standardized. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound. Names were often recorded under different spelling variations every time they were written. Coutts has been written Coutts, Couts, Coots, Cootes, Coutt, Cout, Coot, Coote and many more.

Early Notables of the Coutts family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

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, Ch...
His fourth son, Thomas Coutts (1735-1822) was a British banker who was the founder of the banking house of Coutts & Co. It is the seventh oldest bank in the world

Coutts Ranking

In New Zealand, the name Coutts is the 798^th most popular surname with an estimated 913 people with that name. 2

Coutts migration to the United States +

The crossing to North America did not seem so great in comparison with the hardships many Scots endured at home. It was long, expensive, and cramped, but also rewarding. North America offered land and the chance for settlers to prove themselves in a new place. And many did prove themselves as they fought to forge a new nation in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of those Scots can now experience much of their once-lost heritage through the Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up across North America in the last century. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Coutts:

Coutts Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hercules Coutts, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1709 3

Coutts Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Coutts who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1839
C Coutts, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3

Coutts migration to Australia +

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

Coutts Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Coutts, (Gordon), Scottish convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for life, transported aboard the "Competitor"18th March 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4
Janet Coutts, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Indus" in 1839 5
Miss Elizabeth Coutts, Scottish convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Miss Jean Coutts, (Wishart), Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth and Henry" on 11th February 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. James Coutts, Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the ""Blenheim"" on 24th July 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) and Norfolk Island, Australia 8

Coutts 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:

Coutts Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John Coutts, (b. 1844), aged 12, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 9
Mr. Lewis Coutts, (b. 1834), aged 27, Scottish farm labourer, from Aberdeenshire travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Rhea Sylvia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1861 9
Miss Elizabeth Coutts, (b. 1836), aged 25, Scottish domestic servant, from Aberdeenshire travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Rhea Sylvia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1861 9
Miss Jeanest Coutts, (b. 1841), aged 20, Scottish settler, from Aberdeenshire travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Rhea Sylvia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1861 9
Mr. Alexander Coutts, Scottish settler travelling from Clyde aboard the ship "Robert Henderson" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 5th October 1861 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Coutts (post 1700) +

George W. Coutts, American politician, Mayor of Waukesha, Wisconsin, 1937 10
George A. Coutts, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1972 10
Flora J. Coutts, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Vermont, 1940 10
William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett Coutts (1851-1921), American-born, British Conservative politician
Frederick Coutts (1899-1986), the Scottish 8th General of The Salvation Army
Paul Coutts (b. 1988), Scottish footballer
Thomas Coutts (1735-1822), Scottish banker was the founder of the banking house of Coutts & Co
Emily Coutts (b. 1989), Canadian actress, best known for playing Keyla Detmer, a bridge officer on the series Star Trek: Discovery
James Ryan Coutts (b. 1987), English footballer
Ben Coutts (b. 1979), Australian rugby union footballer
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Coutts family +

RMS Titanic

Mrs. Mary Winnie Coutts, (née Trainer), aged 36, English Third Class passenger from London who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived in the sinking in life boat 2 11
Master William Loch "Willie" Coutts, aged 9, English Third Class passenger from London who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived in the sinking in life boat 2 11
Master Neville Leslie Coutts, aged 3, English Third Class passenger from London who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived in the sinking in life boat 2 11

Citations +

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)
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/competitor
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) INDUS 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Indus.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth-and-henry
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, May 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html