The surname Cox is of English or Welsh origin, and may have originated independently in several places in Great Britain, with the variations arriving at a standard spelling only later. There are also two native Irish surnames which were anglicised into Cox.
An early record of the surname dates from 1556 with the marriage of Alicea Cox at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London. Cox is the 69th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.
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Origin
One possibility of the origin is that it is a version of the Old English cocc which means "the little", and was sometimes put after the name of a leader or chieftain as a term of endearment. Surnames such as Wilcox, Willcocks and Willcox are examples of this practice: all are composed of the name William and the archaic word cocc, coming together to mean "little William". The suggestion is that only the element -cox may have endured as a surname for some families.
Another opinion is that the name is derived from the Old English cock, which means a "heap" or "mound", and was a topographic name for a man living near any heap, hill or other bundle. Names like Haycock or Haycox come from such practice, meaning from "the hay mounds" or "the hay fields". Again, the element -cox may have only been carried on in some families.
The third possibility is that it comes from the Welsh coch, meaning "red". In this opinion, the word could have either been applied to a man with red hair, calling him in essence "the Red", or else served as a topographic name for someone living near the ruddy-hued hills found in Wales, implying that the man is "from the red hills". In Cornwall, the surnames Cock and Couch (pronounced 'cooch') also derive from Cornish cogh "red, scarlet".
As a Cornish surname, Cock can also derive from 'cok', "fishing boat", the Cornish surname "Cocking" being the diminutive form 'cokyn', "small fishing boat". In these cases, the surname is likely to derive from occupation.
The English word "cock", meaning "rooster", is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word cocc, and a fourth possibility is that the surname came about as a nickname.
The surname Cox is also native to Belgian and Dutch Limburg. This name, like the related Cockx, is a degenerate form of Cocceius, a latinization of Kok (English: cook).
Noticeably similar surnames include Cock, Cocks, Coxe, Coxen and Coxon. There is no evidence beyond similar spellings and phonetics that these surnames are related. Given that the origins of the Cox surname are uncertain, it is possible that these names developed as spelling variations, or that each of these names has an origin in a separate word and language.
The origins of the surname in North America are speculated across several written accounts, with most sources pointing toward three distinct families arriving from England in the 17th and 18th Centuries: in 1690, brothers Thomas, William, and Walter Cocke originally of Surry; in 1705, the family of Dr. Wilham Cocke of Williamsburg; and at an unknown time before 1658, Nicholas Cocke of Middlesex.
Notable people
- Alan Cox (born 1968), leader in Linux
- Alan Cox (radio personality) (born 1971), American radio personality
- Alan Cox (actor) (born 1970), Anglo-Scottish actor
- Alex Cox (born 1954), film director
- Allan V. Cox (1926-1987), American geologist
- Ana Marie Cox (born 1972), American blogger and author
- Andre Cox (born 1954), General of The Salvation Army
- Andy Cox (born 1956), British guitarist
- Anne Cox Chambers (born 1919), media owner, daughter of James M. Cox
- Anthony Cox (born 1954), jazz musician
- Anthony Cox, film producer and former husband of Yoko Ono
- Anthony Berkeley Cox (1893-1971), British writer
- Archibald Cox (1912-2004), U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy
- Arthur Cox (actor) (born 1934), British actor
- Arthur Cox (footballer) (born 1939), British football manager
- Barbara Cox (writer), writer and script editor
- Barbara Cox (footballer), New Zealand international women's football (soccer) player
- Barbara Cox Anthony, Media owner, daughter of James M. Cox
- Billy Cox, American bass guitarist
- Billy Cox (baseball) (1919-1978), American Major League Baseball middle infielder
- Bobby Cox (born 1941), American baseball manager
- Brad Cox, American computer scientist, developer of Objective-C
- Brian Cox (disambiguation)
- Brian Cox (born 1946), Scottish actor
- Brian Cox (born 1968), British physicist
- Bryan Cox (born 1968), American football player
- Bryan-Michael Cox (born 1977), American songwriter
- Calli Cox, American porn Actress
- Carl Cox, British musician
- Catherine Cox (actress), American Actress
- Catharine Elizabeth Bean Cox, American/Hawaiian art scholar
- Cathy Cox, American politician
- Channing H. Cox, American politician
- Charles Cox (disambiguation), several people
- Chip Cox, American football player
- Christopher Cox, SEC chairman
- Chris Cox (actor)
- Chris Cox (DJ), dance music producer
- Christina Cox, Canadian actress
- Christopher Augustus Cox, British soldier
- Constance Cox, British scriptwriter
- Courteney Cox, American actress
- Crystal Cox, Olympic Gold Medallist and reality TV star
- Curome Cox, American football player
- Danielle Cox, Football player Sheffield FC Ladies FAWSL2
- Dave Cox, American politician
- David Cox (Australian politician), former member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Kingston
- David Cox (artist), prominent English landscape painter
- David Cox (statistician), prominent British statistician
- Dean Cox (born 1981), Australian rules footballer
- Dean Cox (English footballer) (born 1987), English footballer
- Deborah Cox, Canadian singer
- Dennis Cox (1925-2001), English cricketer and administrator
- Derek Cox, American football player
- Dewey Cox, a fictional musician and subject of the comedic film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
- Doc Cox, British television personality, sound engineer and rude singer
- Donna Cox, American Professor of Art
- Edward Everett Cox, Indiana publisher and Democrat
- Edward F. Cox, keyboardist from Scottish band The Hurricanes
- Edward F. Cox, New York lawyer and potential politician
- Edwin L. Cox, American oilman and philanthropist from Dallas, Texas.
- Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician
- Emily Cox, disambiguation page
- Emily Cox (actress), Australian actress
- Emily Cox (conductor), Australian conductor and Choir master
- Emily Cox (puzzle writer), American puzzle writer
- Eric Cox, Australian rugby league player, coach, referee and administrator
- Ernest Cox, British engineer
- Ethan Cox (born 1987), Canadian professional ice hockey player
- Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox (1893-1977) English botanist
- Eugene Saint Julien Cox (1834-1898), American politician
- Eva Cox, Australian writer and feminist
- Francis William Cox (1817-1904) Congregationalist of Adelaide, South Australia.
- Fred Cox, American football player
- Freddie Cox, English football player
- Gary W. Cox, American political scientist
- Geoffrey Cox (British politician), British barrister and politician
- Geoffrey Cox (journalist) (1910-2008), British television journalist
- George Cox (Ottawa politician) (1834-1909), mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, 1894
- George Albertus Cox (1840-1914), Canadian capitalist and Senator
- George William Cox (1827-1902), British historian
- Geraldine Cox, Australian orphanage administrator in Cambodia
- Gerard Cox (born 1940), Dutch singer, cabaret artist and actor
- Gertrude Mary Cox, American statistician
- Greg Cox (disambiguation), several people
- Hardin Cox, American politician
- Harry Cox, British traditional singer
- Harvey Cox, American theologian
- Heather Cox (singer), American Idol contestant
- H. R. Cox, American bacteriologist
- Ida Cox, blues and jazz musician
- Isaac Joslin Cox, American historian
- Jacob Dolson Cox, American soldier and politician
- Jack Cox (disambiguation), several people
- James Cox (Representative)
- James Allan Cox, American professional wrestler better known as James Storm
- James Charles Cox (1834-1912), Australian physician and conchologist
- James L. Cox, MD, American cardiothoracic surgeon
- James M. Cox, American publisher and politician
- James Renshaw Cox, American Catholic priest and activist
- Jamie Cox, Australian cricketer
- Jan Cox (1919-1980), Dutch painter
- Jennings Cox, American mining engineer and supposed inventor of the daiquiri
- Jo Cox (1974-2016), British Labour Party politician, MP for Batley and Spen, 2015-16
- John Cox (basketball, born 1981), Venezuelan basketball player
- John Cox (Royal Navy officer) (1928-2006), a British Royal Navy admiral
- John Cox (cartoonist), an American cartoonist
- John Cox (cricketer), a Tasmanian-Australian cricketer
- John Arthur "Chubby" Cox III (born 1955), an American basketball player
- John B. Cox, a British-Australian ornithologist
- John Carrington Cox, an American professor and economist
- John H. Cox (born 1955), an Illinois politician, businessman, and radio host
- John I. Cox (1855-1946), a governor of Tennessee
- John R. Cox, Jr. (1913-1995), the birth name of American actor John Howard
- John Rogers Cox, an American artist
- John W. Cox, Jr. (born 1947), an Illinois lawyer and former Congressman, Democrat
- Joseph Buford Cox, American inventor
- Josephine Cox, English author
- Joshua Cox, American actor
- Julianna Cox, fictional character from Homicide: Life on the Street
- Julie Cox, Scottish actress
- Kathy Cox, American politician
- Kathy Cox (skydiver), Canadian skydiver
- Keith Cox (1933-1998), British geologist
- Kenny Ray Cox, American politician and military officer
- Kenyon Cox, American artist
- Kristen Cox, American politician
- Kyoko Chan Cox, daughter of Anthony Cox and Yoko Ono
- Laverne Cox, American actress
- Leroy (Roy) M. Cox, American entrepreneur
- Leslie Reginald Cox (1897-1965), British malacologist
- Lionel Cox (1930-2010), Australian track cyclist
- Lionel Cox (born 1981), Belgian sport shooter
- Lynne Cox, swimmer
- Margaret Cox, Irish politician
- Marian Roalfe Cox English folklorist
- Marion Cox, former NASCAR car owner
- Mark Cox (disambiguation), several people
- Mason Cox (born 1991), American player of Australian rules football
- Mia Cox, American singer-songwriter
- Michael Cox (clergyman), Palmarian Archbishop
- Michele Cox, New Zealand international women's football (soccer) player
- Michael J. Cox, American pharmacist and biographer
- Mike Cox (U.S. politician), American politician
- Nicholas Cox (disambiguation), several people
- Nikki Cox, American actress
- Norm Cox (1925-2008), American football player
- Oscar Cox, promoter of soccer in Brazil
- Palmer Cox, Canadian inventor
- Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament
- Paul Cox (born 1940), Dutch-born Australian film director
- Perrish Cox (born 1987), American football player
- Percy Cox, British diplomat
- Perry Cox, a fictional character on the TV series Scrubs
- Peter Cox (disambiguation), several people
- Philip Cox, Australian architect
- Reg Cox, fictional character in East Enders soap opera
- Renée Cox, American artist and photographer
- Richard Cox (bishop), Anglican bishop of the 16th century
- Richard Cox (horticulturist), English horticulturist who bred the apple varieties Cox's Orange Pippin and Cox's Pomona.
- Richard Colvin Cox, disappeared American cadet
- Richard Threlkeld Cox, physicist and statistician (Cox's theorem)
- Robert E. Cox, American optical engineer and popularizer of amateur telescope making
- Robert Edward Cox, American Medal of Honor recipient
- Robert O. Cox, American mayor
- Robert W. Cox, Canadian international relations academic
- Ron Cox (racing driver), American driver
- Ronny Cox, American actor
- Roxbee Cox, Lord Kings Norton, British aircraft engineer
- Russell M. Cox (1919-1942), American navy officer
- Samuel Cox (minister), English Nonconformist minister
- Samuel Hanson Cox, American Presbyterian theologian
- Samuel S. Cox, American Congressman and diplomat
- Sara Cox, British presenter for the BBC
- Spencer Cox (disambiguation)
- Spencer Cox, AIDS/HIV activist
- Stephen Cox, New Zealand cyclist
- Spencer Cox, Current Lieutenant Governor of Utah
- Steve Cox (disambiguation)
- Steve Cox (artist)
- Steve Cox (American football)
- Steve Cox (baseball)
- Steve Cox (wrestler)* Tara Cox, New Zealand international women's football (soccer) player
- Susan Cox, American visual artist
- Ted Cox (baseball), born 1955
- Ted Cox (American football) (1903-1989)
- Terry Cox, folk rock drummer
- Tiequon Cox, American murderer
- Thomas Cox (disambiguation), several people
- Tony Cox, American actor
- Tony Cox, guitarist based in South Africa
- Tricia Nixon Cox, wife of Edward F. Cox and daughter of Richard Nixon
- Vaughan Cox, (1860-1923) British general
- Wally Cox, American actor
- Wendell Cox, public policy consultant
- William Cox (athlete) (1904-1996), United States Olympic medalist
- William Cox (pioneer) (1764-1837), Australian road engineer
- William Cox (governor) (born 1936), known as Bill Cox, Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor of Australian island state of Tasmania
- William George Cox (19th century), colonial official in British Columbia
- William John Cox (1941), also known as Billy Jack, American lawyer, author and political activist
- William R. Cox (1901-1988), American writer, pulp westerns and mysteries
- William Ruffin Cox (1832-1919), American Confederate general in the Civil War, politician
- William Sitgreaves Cox (1790-1874), court-martialled acting third lieutenant on the USS Chesapeake (1799)
Sources
- Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1967.
- Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.
- Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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