Cotton (surname)
Appearance
Cotton is an Anglo-Saxon surname, derived from place names such as Coton, Cottam and Cotham, which in turn are named for the Old English word cot meaning cottage or hut,[1] and as an (unrelated) French surname, from the diminutive of cotte, meaning coat of mail. Notable people with the surname include:
Athletes
- Amy Cotton (born 1980), Canadian judoka
- Coby and Cory Cotton (born 1987), co-creators of Dude Perfect
- Craig Cotton (born 1947), American football player
- Fran Cotton (born 1947), rugby footballer of the 1970s and 1980s
- Henry Cotton (golfer) (1907–1987), English golfer
- James Cotton (basketball) (born 1975), American basketball player
- James Cotton (gridiron football) (born 1978), American football player
- Jharel Cotton (born 1992), American baseball player
- Keith Cotton (born 1942), rugby footballer of the 1960s and 1970s
- Lester Cotton (born 1996), American football player
- Paris Cotton (born 1989), American football player
- Schea Cotton (born 1978), American basketball player
- Terry Cotton (born 1946), English footballer
Musicians
- Billy Cotton (1899–1969), British band leader
- Gene Cotton (born 1944), American pop and folk singer-songwriter
- James Cotton (1935–2017), American blues harmonica player, singer, songwriter
- Jeff Cotton (born 1949), American rock guitarist
- Paul Cotton (musician) (1943–2021), American guitar player
Politicians and nobility
- Dorothy Cotton (1930–2018), American civil rights activist
- George W. Cotton (1821–1892), South Australian politician
- Norris Cotton (1900–1989), American politician
- Paul Cotton (diplomat) (born 1930), New Zealand diplomat
- Robert Bell Cotton (1859–1917), American politician
- The Cotton baronets
- Tom Cotton (born 1977), American politician
Science and engineering
- Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington (1571–1631), antiquarian and bibliophile, creator of the basis of the British Library
- Aimé Cotton (1869–1951), French scientist
- Cotton effect, named after Aimé Cotton
- Cotton–Mouton effect, named after Aimé Cotton and Henri Mouton
- Sir Arthur Cotton (1803–1899), British general and engineer famous for his work in India
- Arthur Disbrowe Cotton (1879–1962), English plant pathologist, mycologist, phycologist, and botanist
- Bernard Charles Cotton (1905–1966), Australian malacologist
- Charles Cotton (geologist), New Zealand geologist
- Émile Cotton (1872–1950), French mathematician, discoverer of the Cotton tensor
- F. Albert Cotton (1930–2007), American inorganic chemist
Television
- Antony Cotton (born 1975), British actor, best known for his roles in Coronation Street and Queer as Folk (UK)
- Bill Cotton (1928–2008), British television executive
- Fearne Cotton (born 1981), English television presenter and radio 1 DJ
- Dot Cotton (Eastenders)
Other
- Charles Cotton (1630–1687), poet
- David Cotton (born 1950/1951), American billionaire businessman
- John Cotton (minister) (1585–1652), clergyman, grandfather of Cotton Mather
- Mary Ann Cotton (1832–1873), British serial killer
- Richard Lynch Cotton (1794–1880), British vicar and university administrator
- Robert Cotton (disambiguation), several people
- Sarah Cotton (1815–1878), British wife of the academic and medic Sir Henry Acland, inspiration for the Acland Hospital
- Sir Sydney Cotton (1792–1874), British Army officer.
- Thomas Cotton, several people
- William Cotton (disambiguation), several people
See also
References
- ^ Hanks, Patrick (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press.