The surname Cox is of English or Welsh origin, and may have originated independently in several places in Great Britain, with the variations arriving at a standard spelling only later. There are also two native Irish surnames which were anglicised into Cox.
An early record of the surname dates from 1556 with the marriage of Alicea Cox at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London. Cox is the 69th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.
One possibility of the origin is that it is a version of the Old English cocc which means "the little", and was sometimes put after the name of a leader or chieftain as a term of endearment. Surnames such as Wilcox, Willcocks and Willcox are examples of this practice: all are composed of the name William and the archaic word cocc, coming together to mean "little William". The suggestion is that only the element -cox may have endured as a surname for some families.
Another opinion is that the name is derived from the Old English cock, which means a "heap" or "mound", and was a topographic name for a man living near any heap, hill or other bundle. Names like Haycock or Haycox come from such practice, meaning from "the hay mounds" or "the hay fields". Again, the element -cox may have only been carried on in some families.
The third possibility is that it comes from the Welsh coch, meaning "red". In this opinion, the word could have either been applied to a man with red hair, calling him in essence "the Red", or else served as a topographic name for someone living near the ruddy-hued hills found in Wales, implying that the man is "from the red hills". In Cornwall, the surnames Cock and Couch (pronounced 'cooch') also derive from Cornish cogh "red, scarlet".
As a Cornish surname, Cock can also derive from 'cok', "fishing boat", the Cornish surname "Cocking" being the diminutive form 'cokyn', "small fishing boat". In these cases, the surname is likely to derive from occupation.
The English word "cock", meaning "rooster", is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word cocc, and a fourth possibility is that the surname came about as a nickname.
The surname Cox is also native to Belgian and Dutch Limburg. This name, like the related Cockx, is a degenerate form of Cocceius, a latinization of Kok (English: cook).
Noticeably similar surnames include Cock, Cocks, Coxe, Coxen and Coxon. There is no evidence beyond similar spellings and phonetics that these surnames are related. Given that the origins of the Cox surname are uncertain, it is possible that these names developed as spelling variations, or that each of these names has an origin in a separate word and language.
Alan Cox (born 1968), leader in LinuxAlan Cox (radio personality) (born 1971), American radio personalityAlan Cox (actor) (born 1970), Anglo-Scottish actorAlex Cox (born 1954), film directorAllan V. Cox (1926–1987), American geologistAna Marie Cox (born 1972), American blogger and authorAndre Cox (born 1954), General of The Salvation ArmyAndy Cox (born 1956), British guitaristAnne Cox Chambers (born 1919), media owner, daughter of James M. CoxAnthony Cox (born 1954), jazz musicianAnthony Cox, film producer and former husband of Yoko OnoAnthony Berkeley Cox (1893–1971), British writerArchibald Cox (1912–2004), U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. KennedyArthur Cox (actor) (born 1934), British actorArthur Cox (footballer) (born 1939), British football managerBarbara Cox (writer), writer and script editorBarbara Cox (footballer), New Zealand international women's football (soccer) playerBarbara Cox Anthony, Media owner, daughter of James M. CoxBilly Cox, American bass guitaristBilly Cox (baseball) (1919–1978), American Major League Baseball middle infielderBobby Cox (born 1941), American baseball managerBrad Cox, American computer scientist, developer of Objective-CBrian Cox (disambiguation)Brian Cox (born 1946), Scottish actorBrian Cox (born 1968), British physicistBryan Cox (born 1968), American football playerBryan-Michael Cox (born 1977), American songwriterCalli Cox, American porn ActressCarl Cox, British musicianCatherine Cox (actress), American ActressCatharine Elizabeth Bean Cox, American/Hawaiian art scholarCathy Cox, American politicianChanning H. Cox, American politicianCharles Cox (disambiguation), several peopleChip Cox, American football playerChristopher Cox, SEC chairmanChris Cox (actor)Chris Cox (DJ), dance music producerChristina Cox, Canadian actressChristopher Augustus Cox, British soldierConstance Cox, British scriptwriterCourteney Cox, American actressCrystal Cox, Olympic Gold Medallist and reality TV starCurome Cox, American football playerDanielle Cox, Football player Sheffield FC Ladies FAWSL2Dave Cox, American politicianDavid Cox (Australian politician), former member of the House of Representatives for the Division of KingstonDavid Cox (artist), prominent English landscape painterDavid Cox (statistician), prominent British statisticianDean Cox (born 1981), Australian rules footballerDean Cox (English footballer) (born 1987), English footballerDeborah Cox, Canadian singerDennis Cox (1925–2001), English cricketer and administratorDerek Cox, American football playerDewey Cox, a fictional musician and subject of the comedic film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.Doc Cox, British television personality, sound engineer and rude singerDonna Cox, American Professor of ArtEdward Everett Cox, Indiana publisher and DemocratEdward F. Cox, keyboardist from Scottish band The HurricanesEdward F. Cox, New York lawyer and potential politicianEdwin L. Cox, American oilman and philanthropist from Dallas, Texas.Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematicianEmily Cox, disambiguation pageEmily Cox (actress), Australian actressEmily Cox (conductor), Australian conductor and Choir masterEmily Cox (puzzle writer), American puzzle writerEric Cox, Australian rugby league player, coach, referee and administratorErnest Cox, British engineerEthan Cox (born 1987), Canadian professional ice hockey playerEuan Hillhouse Methven Cox (1893–1977) English botanistEugene Saint Julien Cox (1834–1898), American politicianEva Cox, Australian writer and feministFred Cox, American football playerFreddie Cox, English football playerGary W. Cox, American political scientistGeoffrey Cox (British politician), British barrister and politicianGeoffrey Cox (journalist) (1910–2008), British television journalistGeorge Cox (Ottawa politician) (1834–1909), mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, 1894George Albertus Cox (1840–1914), Canadian capitalist and SenatorGeorge William Cox (1827–1902), British historianGeraldine Cox, Australian orphanage administrator in CambodiaGerard Cox (born 1940), Dutch singer, cabaret artist and actorGertrude Mary Cox, American statisticianGreg Cox (disambiguation), several peopleHardin Cox, American politicianHarry Cox, British traditional singerHarvey Cox, American theologianHeather Cox (singer), American Idol contestantH. R. Cox, American bacteriologistIda Cox, blues and jazz musicianIsaac Joslin Cox, American historianJacob Dolson Cox, American soldier and politicianJack Cox (disambiguation), several peopleJames Cox (Representative)James Allan Cox, American professional wrestler better known as James StormJames Charles Cox (1834–1912), Australian physician and conchologistJames L. Cox, MD, American cardiothoracic surgeonJames M. Cox, American publisher and politicianJames Renshaw Cox, American Catholic priest and activistJamie Cox, Australian cricketerJan Cox (1919–1980), Dutch painterJennings Cox, American mining engineer and supposed inventor of the daiquiriJo Cox (1974–2016), British Labour Party politician, MP for Batley and Spen, 2015–16John Cox (Royal Navy officer) (1928–2006), a British Royal Navy admiralJohn Cox (cartoonist), an American cartoonistJohn Cox (cricketer), a Tasmanian-Australian cricketerJohn Arthur "Chubby" Cox III (born 1955), an American basketball playerJohn B. Cox, a British-Australian ornithologistJohn Carrington Cox, an American professor and economistJohn H. Cox (born 1955), an Illinois politician, businessman, and radio hostJohn I. Cox (1855–1946), a governor of TennesseeJohn R. Cox, Jr. (1913–1995), the birth name of American actor John HowardJohn Rogers Cox, an American artistJohn W. Cox, Jr. (born 1947), an Illinois lawyer and former Congressman, DemocratJoseph Buford Cox, American inventorJosephine Cox, English authorJoshua Cox, American actorJulianna Cox, fictional character from Homicide: Life on the StreetJulie Cox, Scottish actressKathy Cox, American politicianKathy Cox (skydiver), Canadian skydiverKeith Cox (1933–1998), British geologistKenny Ray Cox, American politician and military officerKenyon Cox, American artistKristen Cox, American politicianKyoko Chan Cox, daughter of Anthony Cox and Yoko OnoLaverne Cox, American actressLeroy (Roy) M. Cox, American entrepreneurLeslie Reginald Cox (1897–1965), British malacologistLionel Cox (1930–2010), Australian track cyclistLionel Cox (born 1981), Belgian sport shooterLynne Cox, swimmerMargaret Cox, Irish politicianMarian Roalfe Cox English folkloristMarion Cox, former NASCAR car ownerMark Cox (disambiguation), several peopleMason Cox (born 1991), American player of Australian rules footballMia Cox, American singer-songwriterMichael Cox (clergyman), Palmarian ArchbishopMichele Cox, New Zealand international women's football (soccer) playerMichael J. Cox, American pharmacist and biographerMike Cox (U.S. politician), American politicianNicholas Cox (disambiguation), several peopleNikki Cox, American actressNorm Cox (1925–2008), American football playerOscar Cox, promoter of soccer in BrazilPalmer Cox, Canadian inventorPat Cox, former president of the European ParliamentPaul Cox (born 1940), Dutch-born Australian film directorPerrish Cox (born 1987), American football playerPercy Cox, British diplomatPerry Cox, a fictional character on the TV series ScrubsPeter Cox (disambiguation), several peoplePhilip Cox, Australian architectReg Cox, fictional character in East Enders soap operaRenée Cox, American artist and photographerRichard Cox (bishop), Anglican bishop of the 16th centuryRichard Cox (horticulturist), English horticulturist who bred the apple varieties Cox's Orange Pippin and Cox's Pomona.Richard Colvin Cox, disappeared American cadetRichard Threlkeld Cox, physicist and statistician (Cox's theorem)Robert E. Cox, American optical engineer and popularizer of amateur telescope makingRobert Edward Cox, American Medal of Honor recipientRobert O. Cox, American mayorRobert W. Cox, Canadian international relations academicRon Cox (racing driver), American driverRonny Cox, American actorRoxbee Cox, Lord Kings Norton, British aircraft engineerRussell M. Cox (1919–1942), American navy officerSamuel Cox (minister), English Nonconformist ministerSamuel Hanson Cox, American Presbyterian theologianSamuel S. Cox, American Congressman and diplomatSara Cox, British presenter for the BBCSpencer Cox (disambiguation)Spencer Cox, AIDS/HIV activistStephen Cox, New Zealand cyclistSpencer Cox, Current Lieutenant Governor of UtahSteve Cox (disambiguation)Steve Cox (artist)Steve Cox (American football)Steve Cox (baseball)Steve Cox (wrestler)* Tara Cox, New Zealand international women's football (soccer) playerTed Cox (baseball), born 1955Ted Cox (American football) (1903–1989)Terry Cox, folk rock drummerTiequon Cox, American murdererThomas Cox (disambiguation), several peopleTony Cox, American actorTony Cox, guitarist based in South AfricaTricia Nixon Cox, wife of Edward F. Cox and daughter of Richard NixonWally Cox, American actorWendell Cox, public policy consultantWilliam Cox (athlete) (1904–1996), United States Olympic medalistWilliam Cox (pioneer) (1764–1837), Australian road engineerWilliam Cox (governor) (born 1936), known as Bill Cox, Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor of Australian island state of TasmaniaWilliam George Cox (19th century), colonial official in British ColumbiaWilliam John Cox (1941), also known as Billy Jack, American lawyer, author and political activistWilliam R. Cox (1901–1988), American writer, pulp westerns and mysteriesWilliam Ruffin Cox (1832–1919), American Confederate general in the Civil War, politicianWilliam Sitgreaves Cox (1790–1874), court-martialled acting third lieutenant on the USS Chesapeake (1799)
