Cochrane is a surname with multiple independent origins, two Scottish and one Irish. One of the Scottish names derives from a place in Scotland; the Irish surname and the other Scottish surname are both anglicisations of Gaelic language surnames.
The name Cochrane originates from a habitational name derived from the "Lowlands of Cochrane", near Paisley in Renfrewshire. The derivation of the place name is uncertain. One possibility is that it is derived from the Welsh coch meaning "red"; however this theory is not supported by the early spelling of the name Coueran. Early recorded bearers of the surname are Waldeve de Coueran in 1262; William de Coughran in 1296; and Robert de Cochrane in about 1360.
In Scotland during the 18th century, the surname was used as a Lowland adaptation of the Scottish Gaelic Maceachrain.
In Ireland the surname was adopted as an Anglicisation of the Irish Ó Corcráin.
The surname is especially concentrated in England in the counties of Durham in the North of England and Kent in the south. In Scotland, Cochrane is found in high frequency in the counties of South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and in Renfrewshire. The surname is the 224th most common surname in Scotland, 957th most common in England and ranked in the top 100 surnames of a number of former British colonies. There are a number of spelling variations including Cochran, Cockren, and Coughran.
Together Scotland and England have the highest percentage of the Cochrane surname anywhere in the world. In Ireland, the surname Cochrane is especially concentrated in the northern province of Ulster where it was introduced by Protestant Scots settlers during the Plantation period of the 17th century. It was also adopted as an anglicisation by some Corcoran families.
In Northern Ireland, the surname Cochrane is concentrated in the counties of Antrim, Londonderry, Down and Tyrone. James Cochrane, an Ulsterman, was a 19th-century entrepreneur who helped the Northern Irish whiskey Bushmills and the Old Bushmills Distillery gain worldwide popularity.
In the United States, the first Cochranes arrived amongst the Ulster-Scots immigrants to the British North American colonies of New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Some of the earliest Cochranes in the United States came from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in the early 18th century after obtaining a land grant from the Governor of Massachusetts. Later Cochranes would arrive from Scotland and England.
Virtute et labore, a Latin phrase meaning "by valour and exertion".
Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane, British 18th/19th century seamanAlexander Baillie-Cochrane, British Conservative Party (UK) politicianAlun Cochrane, Scottish comedianArchibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald, Scottish nobleman and inventor.Archibald Cochrane, Rear admiral in the Royal NavySir Archibald Douglas Cochrane, Unionist-Conservative and British Governor of Burma.Archie Cochrane, British physician and researcher, after whom the Cochrane Collaboration is named.Sir Arthur Cochrane, long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.Aaron Van Schaick Cochrane (1858–1943), US Representative from New York, nephew of Isaac Whitbeck Van SchaickBasil CochraneBlake Cochrane (born 1991), Australian Paralympic SwimmerCharles Norris Cochrane, (1889–1945), Canadian historian and philosopherDennis Cochrane, Canadian politician and civil servantSir Desmond Cochrane (1918–79)Donald Cochrane (politician) (1904–1985), Australian politicianDonald Cochrane (economist) (1917–1983), Australian econometricianDonald Alexander Cochrane, Canadian composerDouglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald, Scottish representative peer and a British Army generalEdward Cochrane (1834–1907), Canadian politicianEdward L. Cochrane (1892–1959), US Navy officer and naval architectElizabeth Jane Cochrane (Nellie Bly, 1864–1922), American journalist, writer and inventorEthel Cochrane, Canadian Progressive Conservative senator.Francis Cochrane, Canadian Unionist-Conservative Politician.Gordon Cochrane (1916–1994), RNZAF pilot during WWII.Henry Clay Cochrane, US Marine CorpsLieutenant Hugh Stewart Cochrane. 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment of Foot. 1858. Recipient of Victoria Cross after Battle of Jhansi during the Indian Mutiny.Ian Cochrane, British novelistJohn Cochrane, several people.John Cochrane (chess player) (1798–1878), Scottish chess playerJohn Cochrane (general) (1813–1898), Civil War Union general and New York State Attorney General, 1864–1865John Dundas Cochrane (1793–1825), British explorer and cousin of Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of DundonaldJohn M. Cochrane (1859–1904), Justice of the North Dakota Supreme CourtJosephine Cochrane, American inventorJustin Cochrane, British football playerMichael Cochrane, British ActorMichael Cochrane, jazz pianistMickey Cochrane, Hall of Fame baseball player.Nathaniel Day Cochrane, British naval officerNathan Cochrane, Australian journalistRalph Cochrane, British RAF Air Chief Marshal WW2Robert Cochrane, architect to the court of King James III of ScotlandRobert Cochrane, WiccanRory Cochrane, American ActorRyan Cochrane, American soccer playerRyan Cochrane, Canadian swimmerTerry Cochrane, Northern Irish footballerTerry Cochrane, Canadian football playerThomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 19th century Royal Navy Admiral and British Whig Party politicianThomas Cochrane, 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults, Scottish Conservative-Unionist. British Army General.Thomas John Cochrane 19th century governor of NewfoundlandTom Cochrane, Canadian musicianWilliam Cochrane, Scottish MP in the British ParliamentWilliam Cochrane, 1st Earl of DundonaldWilliam Arthur Cochrane, Canadian physician, paediatrician, academic, and medical executiveWilliam Cochran (physicist) Scottish PhysicistZefram Cochrane (fiction), inventor of the warp drive in the Star Trek universe
