The Cottle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,108 people carried this name — #6,632 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,800 people counted. That is up 6% from 4,817 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cottle surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Cottle’.

An early record he cites: Elyas Cotel, Wiltshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 208 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Cottle was found among the farmers of Wiltshire: 18 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Wiltshire 18

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

39 families named Cottle, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 219 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 22
Vermont 6
Maine 4
New York 2
Virginia 2
North Carolina 2
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 235 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Cottle in American newspapers,
1885–1895.

Newspaper page from The Monmouth Inquirer carrying the name Cottle
The Monmouth Inquirer 1895-07-04
Newspaper page from Savannah Morning News carrying the name Cottle
Savannah Morning News 1885-07-19
Newspaper page from Richmond Dispatch carrying the name Cottle
Richmond Dispatch 1885-07-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Cottle in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

7,568 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cottle. The most, 1,369, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 3.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 3,246
Victoria 1,585
New South Wales 1,395
Queensland 972
Western Australia 213
Tasmania 98
ACT (Canberra) 36
Northern Territory 7

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cottle.

Who carried it

People named Cottle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Cottle
    Joseph Cottle 1770–1853 · publisher
  • James Edward Cottle
    James Edward Cottle 1861–1953 · police officer
  • Gale Storm
    Gale Storm 1922–2009 · actor
  • George Washington Cottle 1811–1836
  • Jordan B. Cottle 1874–1930
  • Harvey James Cottle 1876–1931 · teacher

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cottle,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States349 records

349 records of the Cottle name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 170
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 58
  • Other U.S. records 121
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John F. Cottle

    Born 1916 in New York. Enlisted 1940 at New York City; clerk from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1990, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Enora Cottle

    Arrived at New York in 1855 aboard the Constantine from Liverpool, aged 18; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald Franklin Cottle

    Born 1931; from West Palm Beach, Florida. U.S. Marine Corps; declared dead 1952 in Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 349 records for Cottle in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia238 records

238 records of the Cottle name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 108
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 51
  • Other Australian records 79
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Israel Cottle

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Royal Sovereign, arriving 1835; certificate of freedom 1842.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Sarah Ann Cottle

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Goldfinder, aged 25; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Cottle

    Former carpenter of Ballarat East, Victoria; died 1911.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 238 records for Cottle in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada20 records

20 records of the Cottle name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 16
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 3
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Cottle

    Buried in 1939 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elizabeth Cottle

    Died 1921 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record H. J. Cottle

    Came to Ontario in 1881 aboard the Grecian, landing at Quebec, bound for Barrie, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.

Showing 3 of 20 records for Cottle in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom16 records

16 records of the Cottle name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 11
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Cottle

    Buried in 1833 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 84.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Cottle

    Rifle Brigade. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Cottle

    Buried in 1850 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 48.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 16 records for Cottle in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Ireland8 records

8 records of the Cottle name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Cottle

    Died 1952, aged 84; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edward Cottle

    Died 1893, aged 86; buried at Clonburn, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridget Cottle

    Died 1954, aged 83; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Cottle in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand5 records

5 records of the Cottle name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 3
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Terry Brian Cottle

    Died 1995, aged 24; buried at Whangamata Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Arthur Thomas Cottle

    Died 1941, aged 82; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record D. Cottle

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Cottle in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cottle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cottle is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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