Cottrill
An occupational surname from the medieval “cotter,” a small tenant farmer or peasant holding land under feudal obligations.
The #8,834 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,242 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cottrill is a variant spelling of Cotterell/Cottrell and belongs to the same surname family. The root is the medieval cotter or cottar, a small tenant farmer who held a cottage and a little land, often under manorial service. The sense is essentially “one connected with a cotter” or “descendant/family member of a cotter,” with the final -ill/-ell spelling reflecting later surname variation.
History
Historical surname writers place Cottrill among the many English names formed from rural social status terms. It appears chiefly in the Midlands of England, especially Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, where related forms such as Cottrell are also found. In later records the spelling varied freely, and Cottrill became a recognized abbreviated or simplified form of the wider Cotterell family of surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname authorities specifically note Cottrill as one of the shortened Midlands forms of the older Cotterell family name.
From the historical record
“Cotterell, CotterillyCottrell, CottrilL— Occup. 'the cotterel.' * Coterelle, tugurinus * : Prompt. Parv. The cotterel was an inferior tenant, probably holding in abso- lute villenage ; cf. Cotman, Board- man, &c. ; V. Cotter.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)