Cott is a surname of English origin, recorded in the Domesday Book that was compiled in 1086 as a survey of the lands and tenancies of England. It is therefore an ancient family name that has survived into the modern era.
In the linguistic traditions of the British Isles, the surname Cott is a topographic name. It derives from the Middle English word cott, meaning a small cottage or dwelling. Individuals who lived near, or whose dwelling was a cottage, were identified by this locative term. The use of such topographic surnames was common in medieval England as populations grew and the need arose to distinguish between individuals bearing the same personal name.
Some English records show Cott as a spelling variant of the surname Scott. This variant association arises from the Old English word scotti, which denotes a person of Gaelic origin. In contexts where surnames evolved by phonetic similarity or clerical error, the spelling Cott may have been adopted for some families tracing their ancestry to Scottish or Irish settlers.
There is also a further variant derivation from the Old English word cot, again meaning a small shelter or cottage. This analogue to the Middle English cott underlines the common rural habit of naming families after their dwellings in the countryside. The precise meaning used by any particular Cott family would therefore depend on the local historical record in which the name first appears.
In addition to the Domesday Book, the surname appears in a number of other medieval legal and ecclesiastical documents, such as manorial rolls, parish registers, and tax lists. As a name dating from the early Middle Ages, it has remained in use within England, particularly in rural areas where the original geographical reference would have been most resonant.
Contemporary bearers of the surname are found throughout the United Kingdom, with concentrations in regions that historically had a high density of small cottages and rural settlements. The genealogical record shows that the surname has persisted without major spelling changes, retaining the original spelling Cott in official documents, parish records, and modern civil registration. The endurance of the name illustrates its strong local identification with a particular type of dwelling in the English countryside.