Show ContentsCock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Cock family

The surname Cock was first found in Holland, where the name became noted for its many branches in the region, each house acquiring a status and influence which was envied by the princes of the region. The name was first recorded in North Holland, a province of the Netherlands. The principal cities are Amsterdam, Haarlem and Hilversum. It was the seat of the old Counts of Holland. Seat of one of the oldest families is Brederode Castle near Haarlem. There are many old and quaint towns in the province. including Medemblik, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Edam, and Monnikendam. In their later history the surname became a power unto themselves and were elevated to the ranks of nobility as they grew into this most influential family.

Early History of the Cock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cock research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1480, 1505, 1510, 1527, 1548 and 1676 are included under the topic Early Cock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cock Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cock, Cocke, Cocks, Cockk, Cocck, Coock, Coccke, Coocks, Cockes, van Cock and many more.

Early Notables of the Cock family

From this era of Dutch history, those of this who distinguished themselves included

  • Hieronymus Cock (Kock) (1510-70), a Flemish painter and engraver in Antwerp
  • Jan Wellens de Cock (c. 1480-1527), a Flemish painter and draftsman


Cock migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cock Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Johan Cock, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1627
  • lasso Cock, who arrived in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1627 1
  • Otto Earnest Cock, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1627 1
  • Lewis Cock, who landed in Virginia in 1638 1
  • Lewis Cock, who settled in Virginia in 1638
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cock Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Cock, who arrived in Virginia in 1706 1
  • Walter Cock, who landed in Virginia in 1706 1
  • Mary Cock, who landed in Virginia in 1706 1
  • James Cock, who landed in Virginia in 1706 1
  • Anne Cock, who landed in Virginia in 1706 1
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jacob Cock, aged 50, who arrived in New Haven, Connecticut in 1826 1
  • Alfred Cock, aged 9, who landed in New Haven, Connecticut in 1826 1
  • Matthew Cock, who arrived in New York in 1842 1
  • Mr. Francis Cock, (b. 1814), aged 34, Cornish miner departing from Penzance aboard the ship "Cornwall" arriving in the United States on 18th October 1848 2
  • Mr. T. Cock, (b. 1827), aged 21, Cornish miner departing from Penzance aboard the ship "Mountaineer" arriving in the United States on 29th May 1848 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cock Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Charles B. Cock, (b. 1878), aged 22, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 29th April 1900 en route to Red Jacket, Michigan, USA 3
  • Mrs. Martha Cock, (b. 1874), aged 29, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Cedric" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 17th April 1903 en route to York, Pennsylvania, USA 3
  • Mr. Thomas Cock, (b. 1879), aged 24, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "Campania" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 7th November 1903 en route to De Lamar, Idaho, USA 3
  • Mr. W. Henry Cock, (b. 1877), aged 26, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "Campania" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 7th November 1903 en route to Victoria, British Columbia, USA 3
  • Mr. Thomas M. Cock, (b. 1882), aged 22, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "New York" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 12th December 1904 en route to Bisbee, Arizona, USA 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cock migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cock Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Frederich Cock, who arrived in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1757
  • Anthon Cock, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
  • Frederich Cock, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
  • Henrich Cock, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
  • Mr. John Cock, "Cox" Jr., U.E. who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1783 4
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cock migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cock Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Cock, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • Mr. John Haynes Cock, Cornish convict who was convicted in Cornwall, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
  • Mr. William Cock, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • Mr. John Haynes Cock, (b. 1814), aged 18 born in Cornwall, UK convicted in Cornwall on 24th March 1832, sentenced for 14 year for stealing a gun, transported aboard the ship "Circassian" in 1833 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania, Australia 8
  • Mr. William Cock, (b. 1794), aged 41, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 30th June 1835, sentenced for 14 years for stealing 40 gallons of barley from Richard Williams and a bag from Jonathan Ball, transported aboard the ship "Recovery" on 26th October 1835 to New South Wales, Australia 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cock migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Cock Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Stephen Cock, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Evening Star" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand in 1858 10
  • Robert Cock, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1872
  • Amy Cock, aged 28, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1872
  • John Cock, aged under 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1872
  • Mr. Thomas H. Cock, (b. 1853), aged 21, Cornish cooper departing on 10th April 1874 aboard the ship "Stonehouse" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 29th June 1874 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cock migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12
Cock Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Joseph Cock who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
  • Jo Cock, aged 18, who arrived in St Christopher in 1635 1
  • Mr. John Cock, (b. 1617), aged 18, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 13

Contemporary Notables of the name Cock (post 1700) +

  • Townsend Daniel Cock (1838-1913), American farmer, banker and politician from New York
  • William Cock, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County, 1792-93 14
  • Townsend P. Cock, American politician, Member of New York State Senate 1st District, 1872-73 14
  • Frank R. Cock, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 48th District, 1919-20; Member of South Dakota State Senate 39th District, 1921-24 14
  • Edward Cock (1805-1892), British surgeon, editor of Guy's Hospital Reports (1843-1849)
  • Gerald Cock (1887-1973), British broadcasting executive, first director of BBC television
  • Christina Cock (1887-2002), Australian oldest verified supercentenarian in Australian history, aged 114 years, 148 days when she died
  • John Gilbert "Jack" Cock MM MID (1893-1966), English footballer

HMS Royal Oak
  • Clarence Henry Cock (1913-1939), British Lieutenant (E) with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 15


  1. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  2. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
  3. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  4. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  5. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
  6. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/tasmanian_convicts_cornish.pdf
  9. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  11. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  13. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  14. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  15. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html


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