Discover the origin of your name

What does your surname mean?

As every genealogist knows, we're all the product of our family's history. But genetics aren't the only thing that we pass down the generations. Used to identify our familial bonds, surnames link us to even our most distant ancestors. If your curious about your family history, doing a surname search is a great place to start.

The origin of your last name can reveal a lot about your earliest ancestors' birthplaces, occupations and more.

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Surname of the week

Cox

If you meet a Cox, tell them...

The origin of the Cox surname is varied and the name is found throughout Britain, particularly in England and Wales. It may be topographical, and refer to the Old English 'cock' (heap or hill), and given to a person who lived on or near hills. Cox could also come from the Old English 'cocc' (little), and be used as a descriptive name, or a term of endearment for someone who was in a position of power or particularly large. In Wales the surname Cox is thought to come from the Welsh 'coch' (red), and be given to someone who has red hair or complexion. The other possibility is that Cox came about as a nickname, from the English word 'cock' (rooster). At the Battle of Hastings, a Norman knight named Alric was given the name 'Le Coq' for his strutting around the battlefield, which was also passed to his descendants and has sometimes been anglicised to Cox.