Cobb Name Study

Profile managers: One Name Studies WikiTree [send private message] and Gary Cobb [send private message]

About the Project

The Cobb Name Study project serves as a collaborative platform to collect information on the Cobb name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join the study to help make it a valuable reference point for other genealogists who are researching or have an interest in the Cobb name.

As a One Name Study, this project is not limited to persons who are related biologically. Individual studies can be used to branch out the research into specific methods and areas of interest, such as geographically (England Cobb's), by time period (18th Century Cobb's), or by topic (Cobb DNA, Cobb Occupations, Cobb Statistics). These studies may also include a number of family branches which have no immediate link with each other. Some researchers may even be motivated to go beyond the profile identification and research stage to compile fully sourced, single-family histories of some of the families they discover through this name study project.

Also see the related surnames and surname variants.

The surname, variations of which are Cobbe, Cobb, Cobson, and Copson, is of early medieval English origin, and is an example of the many early surnames that were gradually created during the Middle Ages from the habitual use of a nickname. In this instance, the nickname, or byname, recorded in Cornwall in 1201 as "Cobba", derives from a term meaning "lump", found in both Olde English and Old Norse, and used to denote a large, well built, impressive man. The equivalent byname in Old Norse is recorded as "Kobbi", and the examples of the surname Cobb or Cobbe found in the eastern counties of England are probably derived from this source. In some cases, the surname may represent a short form of the male personal name "Jacob", from the hebrew "Yaakov", which is traditionally held to mean "he supplanted", from the biblical story of Esau and Jacob. One Joseph Cobb was an early emigrant to the American colonies; he is recorded as a resident of Elizabeth City in Virginia in 1635, having arrived on the "Treasoror" in 1613. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Leuric Cobbe, which was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book of Essex, during the reign of King William 1, known as "William the Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

How to Join

To join the Cobb Name Study, first start out by browsing our current research pages to see if there is a specific study ongoing that fits your interests. If so, feel free to add your name to the Membership list below, post an introduction comment on the specific team page, and then dive right in!

If a research page does not yet exist for your particular area of interest, please contact the Name Study Coordinator: Gary Cobb for assistance.

... ... ... is a member of the Cobb Name Study Project.

Once you are ready to go, you can also show your project affiliation with the ONS Member Sticker:

Research Pages

Here are some of the current research pages included in the study. I'll be working on them, and could use your help!

Membership

Related Surnames and Surname Variants

• Cobbe
• Cobson