The Cotton surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 33,374 people carried this name — #1,044 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,840 people counted. That is up 5% from 31,759 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Cotton surname
From Hebrew קָתָן (katan, “small”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cotton» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,272 people named Cotton.
25 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 67 départements, most often Nord.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 9 births for the Cotton name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 186 people named Cotton live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 80 people named Cotton live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
43 people named Cotton live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
29 people named Cotton is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Cotton in American newspapers,
1899–1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
Who carried it
People named Cotton,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Sir Allan Cotton d. 1628 -
George Cotton d. 1616 · politician
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Edward Cotton d. 1675 · cleric
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John Cotton d. 1388 · politician
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William Cotton d. 1675 · industrialist
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Priscilla Cotton d. 1664 · writer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Cotton.
- Cotten 5,719 · U.S. census
- Cottet 175 · U.S. census
- Cotti 197 · U.S. census
- Cottier 550 · U.S. census
- Cottini 187 · U.S. census
- Cotto 6,506 · U.S. census
- Cottrel 125 · U.S. census
- Cotty 205 · U.S. census
- Coty 1,235 · U.S. census
- Couchon 168 · U.S. census
- Couchot 192 · U.S. census
- Coudret 125 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Cotton 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.