Cotton (surname)
Cotton occurs as 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
- 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
- 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) (born 1943), 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
- 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 him
- Sir Arthur Cotton (1803–1899), British general and engineer famous for his work in India
- Arthur Disbrowe Cotton (1879–1962), botanist, species author Cotton and a president of the British Mycological Society
- 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
This page lists people with the surname Cotton.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press.