Cottrell
An English surname probably linked to a cottager or small householder, later used in forms like Cotterell and Cottrill.
The #2,141 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,237 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as a development of Cotterell, itself from the medieval word cotter or cottar for a peasant or tenant holding a small cottage and a little land. The first element is the Old English and Middle English cot, meaning a cottage or hut. The ending -rell or -ell is a diminutive or formative element that appears in several surname variants, though exact development can vary by region and spelling tradition.
History
Historical sources place the name in medieval England, where it appears in forms such as Cotterel, Coterel, Cottrell, and Cottrill. Nineteenth-century surname writers often connected it with cottagers or villein tenants, and later onomastic works grouped it with other names built on cot- forms. It is especially found in English records and seems to have remained more common in the Midlands and surrounding counties in later centuries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books note that Cottrell and Cottrill often appear together in county lists, especially in Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire.
From the historical record
“Coton, Cotton. COTTRELL. See Cotterell. COUCHMAN. Probably the same as couclier, wliich Bailey defines as, "an old word signifying a factor residing in some foreign country for traffic." COULES. See Coles. COUL]\IAN. See Colman. COULSON. See Colsou.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom