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Cockle Family History

Cockle Surname Meaning

From Middle English cokel (Old French coquille) ‘shell’ also ‘cockle’ the shellfish perhaps for a cockle gatherer or for someone who liked eating them. Compare Will. le Cokeler (alias) Will. le coclere 1281 in Fransson; William Cokeler 1332 in Subsidy Rolls (Gosberton Lincs); Johannes Cokkeler 1381 in Poll Tax (Moulton Lincs); Thomas Cokeler 1378 in TNA (Burnham Norton Norfolk). They lived near the Wash and were probably cockle merchants.

Alternatively, Cokel may have been a nickname for pilgrims to the shrine of Saint James of Compostella who sewed cockle shells on their clothes as a sign of their pilgrimage. Compare cockle hat (1834 OED) a hat with a cockle or scallop shell stuck into it worn for the same reason.

Perhaps from Middle English cok(k)el ‘(corn) cockle’ (Old English coccul coccel) a weed particularly common in cornfields. Weeding cornfields was a seasonal occupation however and was perhaps less likely than the word in (i) to have given rise to a hereditary surname.

In N England sometimes a variant of Cockhill.

Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, 2016

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Where is the Cockle family from?

You can see how Cockle families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Cockle family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Cockle families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 5 Cockle families living in British Columbia. This was about 56% of all the recorded Cockle's in Canada. British Columbia had the highest population of Cockle families in 1911.

Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Cockle surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

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What Cockle family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 14,000 census records available for the last name Cockle. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Cockle census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 1,000 immigration records available for the last name Cockle. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 843 military records available for the last name Cockle. For the veterans among your Cockle ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Cockle lifespan?

Between 1951 and 2004, in the United States, Cockle life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1964, and highest in 1971. The average life expectancy for Cockle in 1951 was 40, and 60 in 2004.

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