Cockburn (surname) - Family Origins

Family Origins

The Cockburn surname had appeared by the early 13th century, when it was employed to identify individuals from a district or location called Cockburn (modern spelling). The name Cockburn has been viewed as originating from the juxtaposition of 'Cock', derived from the Old English word 'cocc' meaning 'moor-cock', 'wild bird' or 'hill', with 'burn' derived from the old word 'burna' meaning 'brook' or 'stream'. There are several possible candidates for this geographical name including: a former 'Cokoueburn' district in early medieval Roxburghshire; a place called 'Calkesburne' that was mentioned in a charter from 1162 to 1190 that awarded the land of Hermanston in East Lothian; the hill called Cockburn Law, north of present-day Duns in Berwickshire, which was fortified in Iron Age times; and the town of Cockburnspath, originally known as 'Kolbrand's Path', on the eastern coast of Scotland. There are several Cockburn placenames that are located near Cockburn Law along Whiteadder Water including Cockburn farm, Cockburn Mill, and the now ruined farm Cockburn East. A Cockburn Tower reportedly existed in this same general area. It is unclear, however, whether this region in Berwickshire is in fact the true origin of the family name.

In perhaps the first recorded mention of a Cockburn, a Petro de Cokburne witnessed a charter in the "Register of the House of Soltre" that described a gift of arable land in Lempitlaw, just east of Kelso in Roxburghshire in about 1190-1220, during the reign of King William "the Lion" (1165–1214). However, the dating of this document has been recently revised to 1251-1274. A Robert de Cockburn is mentioned as a ‘serviens’ (servant or sergeant) in a charter, dating from 1232 to 1242, in which land is granted to the Chapel of St. Nicholas, next to a bridge over the River Spey in Moray. The knight Sir Roberto de Cokeburn (perhaps the same Robert) is mentioned in a charter that was prepared in Chirnside on November 4, 1261 during the reign of Patrick III, Earl of Dunbar (1248–1270). Sir Roberto de Cokeburne is mentioned in another charter (dated to 1269-1289) as being the constable of the royal burgh of Roxburgh. A Petro de Kokeburne is mentioned on a document, dated from 15 May 1285, that records the sale of land to Kelso Abbey, near Roxburgh. In the mid 13th century, the landowner Johannes de Kocburn (John de Cockburn) granted land near his property at Collessie in Fife to Lindores Abbey. In the summer of 1296, along with the bulk of the Scottish nobility and senior clergy, Pieres de Cokeburn and Thomas de Cokeburn 'del counte de Rokesburgh' signed the Ragman Roll pledging their allegiance to King Edward I of England.

Historically there have been many alternative spellings of the family name. Early medieval spellings included 'Cokburne', 'Cokeburne', 'Kokeburne' and other variations. In Scotland the spelling of the family name had stabilized to 'Cockburn' by the late 17th century, and this is the spelling most commonly used today in British Commonwealth countries. In the United States, the simplified spelling 'Coburn' is more widely used than 'Cockburn'. In Cumberland, England, the 'Cockbain' family emerged from Scottish Cockburn ancestors. A branch of the family was established in France in the 16th century by mercenary soldiers. In 1494, a Thomas Cocquebourne was serving as an archer in the Garde Écossaise, which was the personal bodyguard of the King of France. Many more Cockburn mercenaries served the Kings of France in this elite unit over the next century. Cockburn descendants in France today use the family name 'de Cockborne'. The early 17th century mercenary leader Samuel Cockburn used the spelling 'Cobron' while working for the King of Sweden. In the late 17th century, a Cockburn merchant established a German branch of the family, which adopted the surname 'Kabrun' in the Hanseatic port of Danzig. A great-grandson of this Scottish-German Kabron was the wealthy merchant and renowned book collector, art collector and philanthropist Jakob Kabrun Jr. (1759–1814).

The Cockburn name was well known in the English possessions of the Caribbean from the 17th century onwards. By the early 18th century, Cockburns were living in the Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica. Cockburn Town, the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands, was founded in 1681 by salt traders from the Bahamas. Dr. James Cockburn (b. c1659 in Langton, Scotland - d. 1718 in Jamaica), Dr. Thomas Cockburn (1700-c1769) and Dr. James Cockburn (c1770-1798) were three generations of medical doctors from the same Cockburn family in Jamaica. The first doctor in this line was the third son of Sir Archibald Cockburn, 2nd Baronet of Langton. Admiral Sir George Cockburn led successful naval operations against the French and Spanish in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars. Sir Francis Cockburn was a colonial administrator in both the British Honduras (1830–37) and the Bahamas (1837-4). Cockburn Town, the administrative center of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas, was named after Sir Francis. Some Scottish Cockburn men settled in the area and married Caribbean women, and their descendants live today in Trinidad and Tobago and elsewhere in the Caribbean and North America.