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Edited from
"THE ORIGINS
OF THE COCKITT SURNAME"
by Dr.
Keith Giles, Auckland, NZ
There are several
theories about the origin of the Cockitt surname.
One is that it denoted a baker - a cockett being the stamp or seal on a loaf
of bread in medieval times certifying it was of the correct weight.
Another is that it referred to a customs officer, whose job it was to check
off or 'cockett' goods and merchandise.
A third possibility is that it is a diminutive of the word or surname Cock
(originally thought to have been applied to either a proud strutting youth, or a fat
awkward person) with an alternative spelling of Coquet.
Co(c)quet, or Cochet, is in fact a surname found amongst French Huguenots in
England in the 16th century, and so some modern-day Cockitts may well have
French ancestors.
Despite the possibility that the Cockitt/Cockett surname may derive from place names
or geographical features:
1. There is a River
Coquet in
Northumberland, England.
2. In South Wales in the
United Kingdom, there is the township of "Cockett" (with a Cockett
Police Station and Pub called Cockett
Inn).
In the above cases
though, the name most likely
derives from an occupation or nickname rather than a location.
This view is supported by analysis of Cockitt/Cockett births, marriages and
deaths extracted from the General Register Office (GRO) indexes for the period
1837-1920.
These show that the surname was not restricted to any one part of England or
Wales in the United Kingdom, although in England there were particular strongholds of the name in Bradford
(Yorkshire), Macclesfield, Manchester, Battle and Hastings, and London during
the 19th century.
The countrywide 1881 census index also indicates large clusters of the surname
in Lincolnshire and Essex.
A correspondent related to me how once she had been informed by an old Essex
resident that Cockett "was a good Essex name".
Nevertheless, that won't stop you finding
:
-
Cockett's Temperance
Hotel (1st Site) or
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Cockett's Temperance
Hotel (2nd Site) and
-
Cockett the Butcher
in Hawes, North Yorkshire.
Some Cockitt Links :
Contact Information :
We Do Not Have Any Snail Mail
Base Set Up @ The Moment... Sorry !
Phone Number: Sorry No Phone
Fax Number: Sorry No Fax
E-mail Address: Sorry-We-Have-No-Email-Facilities@cockitt.net
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