COSBY
The surname Cosby is of English origin and is traditionally regarded as a locational name derived from a place situated in the south west of Leicester in Leicestershire. The earliest recorded form of the placename appears as Cossebi in the Domesday Book of 1086, and later as Cosseby in the 1236 Feet of Fines for the county.
The etymology of the place name combines the Old English personal name Cossa—a name that also appears as the first element of Cosham in Hampshire—with the Old Norse suffix byr, meaning homestead or settlement. Consequently, the placename denotes a homestead associated with a person named Cossa.
From the place name the surname was adopted by those who either held land locally or who had moved from the settlement to other parts of the country. As with many locational surnames, the name was first transmitted within the immediate community and later spread as families relocated or travelled.
The surname was recorded in English Church Registers from the mid‑sixteenth century. A notable example is the marriage of Elyzabethe Cosbye and John Berden on 13 April 1551 at Christ Church, Greyfriars, Newgate, London.
Variations in spelling, such as Cosbey, Cosbee, Cozby and Cowsby, are well documented. These variations are typical of the period, reflecting differences in regional pronunciation and the lack of a fixed orthography.
Beyond England, the surname appeared in Ireland during the early fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, most notably in County Leix. An Anglo‑Irish family bearing the name is recorded in the 1548 “Records of Queen’s County,” where Francis Cosby is identified as an Irish general under King Edward V.
The family’s coat of arms is described as an azure shield with three golden dishes, and a silver canton bearing a red saltire between four green lucies haurient. This heraldic description is consistent with the documented arms of the Cosby family in Ireland.
In the United Kingdom, the surname continues to be borne by individuals who remain in the country. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a distinguished bearer of the name was Sir Henry Augustus Montagu Cosby (1743–1822). He served as a lieutenant‑colonel in 1773, was knighted in 1786, and rose to the rank of lieutenant‑general in 1822.
In the modern era, many individuals with the surname Cosby have emigrated from the United Kingdom to other parts of the world, especially the United States, where the name is still in use. The spread of the surname to the New World reflects the broader patterns of migration from the British Isles during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Cosby surname
Male
- Adam
- David
- Howard
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Scott
- William
Female
- Amanda
- Anne
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Heather
- Jane
- Jean
- Joan
- Lisa
- Lynne
- Natasha
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Cosby in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 557 people named Cosby in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around nine in a million people in Britain are named Cosby.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Cosby
- Bill Cosby - American actor, comedian, author, producer, musician, activist, sex offender
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.