Surname Cowdill - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'C'
Cowdill: What does the surname Cowdill mean?
The last name Cowdill is of English origin and derives from the Old English ‘Cufi-dil’. This Anglo-Saxon term could be translated to mean ‘cow’s valley’, signifying an individual or family hailing from a rural area, most likely used as grazing land for cows.
Cowdill has remained an uncommon surname since the medieval period. It is thought that the family may have originated in the southern counties of England, although records show that the name is found throughout the UK today.
The Cowdill family may have taken their name from the landscape in which they lived, as early records contain many variations of the original surname: Cuddell, Covilla, and Cuffdell, just to name a few. In some cases, different spellings could have been due to the mispronunciation of the name by officials who carried out the original records.
At present, there are many Cowdills living across the United Kingdom and North America, although the majority of those in the United States are descended from English ancestors who emigrated in the 19th century.
Public recordshave documented the presence of the Cowdill family in eight different countries since the 18th century, showing that the family has had both a unique and widespread impact on British and World heritage.
Order DNA origin analysisCowdill: Where does the name Cowdill come from?
The last name Cowdill is most commonly found today in the United States. Specifically, in Pennsylvania and Missouri. According to the United States Census Bureau, the surname Cowdill was most prevalent in Pennsylvania, where it was ranked 17,653 out of 88,799 in terms of popularity.
In Missouri, the surname ranked 2,900 out of 21,542 in terms of popularity. As of 2020, the surname Cowdill is less common than it was in the past, but still relatively present in the area of Pennsylvania.
The surname Cowdill is also present in a number of other countries, however the prevalence is much lower. According to data from Ancestry.com and Forebears, the surname Cowdill can be found in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. These countries have more limited records for ancestral tracing, but the surname does appear in documents.
In the UK, the surname Cowdill appears to have originated in Yorkshire, as there are a number of references to people with the surname in documents and records originating from that area. It is also relatively present in Canada according to records from Ancestry.com.
Overall, it is most common in the United States, in the state of Pennsylvania and to a lesser extent in Missouri.
Variations of the surname Cowdill
Cowdill is an uncommon family name of English origins, from west Yorkshire. It is a variation of the name Codall which is derived from the Middle English words "co" and dall", meaning "wooded valley". Variations, spellings and surnames of the same origin could include Codehall, Cowdhull, Cowdel or Codell.
In the late 19th century, the main spellings of the surname are ‘Cowdill’, ‘Codall’ and ‘Cowdhull’, suggesting that different branches of the family were variously adopting different spellings as they moved around the country.
Additional variants of the surname include Codell, Cowdeall and Custodell. In some areas, such as Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, it is possible that the surname may be pronounced somewhat differently to Cowdill, being pronounced more like ‘Codall’.
In local civil registration records the surname can be found spelt as ‘Cowdell’ and ‘Cowdle’. For foreign visitors the surname could have been Anglicised into ‘Codell’ or ‘Cowdell’, with foreign speakers finding the ‘w’ sound difficult to accurately transcribe.
It is possible that the surname may also have changed as a result of the general spelling reforms of the Victorian era to become ‘Cowdeall’, ‘Cowdeill’ or ‘Custodell’.
The history of the surname can be traced through local records and parish registers, suggesting it is a relatively rare name. It is likely that the surname Cowdill has a single common origin, derived from the Middle English words ‘co’ and ‘dall’. This family name may have been found in various parts of the British Isles and could have undergone various changes in spelling over time.
Famous people with the name Cowdill
- Darnell Cowdill: American professional basketball player
- Heather Cowdill: British actor and filmmaker
- Roy Cowdill: American former college basketball coach
- Michael Cowdill: Australian rules footballer
- Reg Cowdill: English football goalkeeper
- Paul Cowdill: British freelance television and radio presenter
- John Cowdill: English former footballer
- Lee Cowdill: British actor and comedian
- Rob Cowdill: American sports commentator
- Keith Cowdill: English cricketer