Cowart
An English surname that likely began as a nickname for a cowherd, later simplified from older forms like Cowherd/Coward.
The #3,095 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,568 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as an occupational name for someone who tended cows. It is usually taken from Middle English cowherd, literally “cow herder,” with later spelling changes producing forms such as Coward and Cowart. The historical sources also point to Cowherd as the older form behind the modern surname.
History
Bardsley notes Cowart as a North English surname and treats it as a variant of Cowherd/Coward. The name appears in English records by the 13th century and is still found in Britain and, later, in the United States. Spelling variation was common, so Cowart, Coward, and Cowherd could all reflect the same occupational source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley remarks that in some parts of Lancashire the surname was common enough to compete with long-established local names like Tyson and Atkinson.
From the historical record
“Coward,of Kirkby I relelh , 1 637 1 ibid. p. 77. Hellen Cowart, of Out RaweliBe, 1663 : IbM. p. 76. Cowherd, the origiiMl form, still exists (v. Cowherd). This surname is well represented across the At-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances