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 Linux
Alan Cox (radio personality) (born 1971), American radio personality
Alan Cox (actor) (born 1970), Anglo-Scottish actor
Alex Cox (born 1954), film director
Allan V. Cox (1926–1987), American geologist
Ana Marie Cox (born 1972), American blogger and author
Andre Cox (born 1954), General of The Salvation Army
Andy Cox (born 1956), British guitarist
Anne Cox Chambers (born 1919), media owner, daughter of James M. Cox
Anthony Cox (born 1954), jazz musician
Anthony Cox, film producer and former husband of Yoko Ono
Anthony Berkeley Cox (1893–1971), British writer
Archibald Cox (1912–2004), U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy
Arthur Cox (actor) (born 1934), British actor
Arthur Cox (footballer) (born 1939), British football manager
Barbara Cox (writer), writer and script editor
Barbara Cox (footballer), New Zealand international women's football (soccer) player
Barbara Cox Anthony, Media owner, daughter of James M. Cox
Billy Cox, American bass guitarist
Billy Cox (baseball) (1919–1978), American Major League Baseball middle infielder
Bobby Cox (born 1941), American baseball manager
Brad Cox, American computer scientist, developer of Objective-C
Brian Cox (disambiguation)
Brian Cox (born 1946), Scottish actor
Brian Cox (born 1968), British physicist
Bryan Cox (born 1968), American football player
Bryan-Michael Cox (born 1977), American songwriter
Calli Cox, American porn Actress
Carl Cox, British musician
Catherine Cox (actress), American Actress
Catharine Elizabeth Bean Cox, American/Hawaiian art scholar
Cathy Cox, American politician
Channing H. Cox, American politician
Charles Cox (disambiguation), several people
Chip Cox, American football player
Christopher Cox, SEC chairman
Chris Cox (actor)
Chris Cox (DJ), dance music producer
Christina Cox, Canadian actress
Christopher Augustus Cox, British soldier
Constance Cox, British scriptwriter
Courteney Cox, American actress
Crystal Cox, Olympic Gold Medallist and reality TV star
Curome Cox, American football player
Danielle Cox, Football player Sheffield FC Ladies FAWSL2
Dave Cox, American politician
David Cox (Australian politician), former member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Kingston
David Cox (artist), prominent English landscape painter
David Cox (statistician), prominent British statistician
Dean Cox (born 1981), Australian rules footballer
Dean Cox (English footballer) (born 1987), English footballer
Deborah Cox, Canadian singer
Dennis Cox (1925–2001), English cricketer and administrator
Derek Cox, American football player
Dewey 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 singer
Donna Cox, American Professor of Art
Edward Everett Cox, Indiana publisher and Democrat
Edward F. Cox, keyboardist from Scottish band The Hurricanes
Edward F. Cox, New York lawyer and potential politician
Edwin L. Cox, American oilman and philanthropist from Dallas, Texas.
Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician
Emily Cox, disambiguation page
Emily Cox (actress), Australian actress
Emily Cox (conductor), Australian conductor and Choir master
Emily Cox (puzzle writer), American puzzle writer
Eric Cox, Australian rugby league player, coach, referee and administrator
Ernest Cox, British engineer
Ethan Cox (born 1987), Canadian professional ice hockey player
Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox (1893–1977) English botanist
Eugene Saint Julien Cox (1834–1898), American politician
Eva Cox, Australian writer and feminist
Fred Cox, American football player
Freddie Cox, English football player
Gary W. Cox, American political scientist
Geoffrey Cox (British politician), British barrister and politician
Geoffrey Cox (journalist) (1910–2008), British television journalist
George Cox (Ottawa politician) (1834–1909), mayor of Ottawa, Ontario, 1894
George Albertus Cox (1840–1914), Canadian capitalist and Senator
George William Cox (1827–1902), British historian
Geraldine Cox, Australian orphanage administrator in Cambodia
Gerard Cox (born 1940), Dutch singer, cabaret artist and actor
Gertrude Mary Cox, American statistician
Greg Cox (disambiguation), several people
Hardin Cox, American politician
Harry Cox, British traditional singer
Harvey Cox, American theologian
Heather Cox (singer), American Idol contestant
H. R. Cox, American bacteriologist
Ida Cox, blues and jazz musician
Isaac Joslin Cox, American historian
Jacob Dolson Cox, American soldier and politician
Jack Cox (disambiguation), several people
James Cox (Representative)
James Allan Cox, American professional wrestler better known as James Storm
James Charles Cox (1834–1912), Australian physician and conchologist
James L. Cox, MD, American cardiothoracic surgeon
James M. Cox, American publisher and politician
James Renshaw Cox, American Catholic priest and activist
Jamie Cox, Australian cricketer
Jan Cox (1919–1980), Dutch painter
Jennings Cox, American mining engineer and supposed inventor of the daiquiri
Jo Cox (1974–2016), British Labour Party politician, MP for Batley and Spen, 2015–16
John Cox (Royal Navy officer) (1928–2006), a British Royal Navy admiral
John Cox (cartoonist), an American cartoonist
John Cox (cricketer), a Tasmanian-Australian cricketer
John Arthur "Chubby" Cox III (born 1955), an American basketball player
John B. Cox, a British-Australian ornithologist
John Carrington Cox, an American professor and economist
John H. Cox (born 1955), an Illinois politician, businessman, and radio host
John I. Cox (1855–1946), a governor of Tennessee
John R. Cox, Jr. (1913–1995), the birth name of American actor John Howard
John Rogers Cox, an American artist
John W. Cox, Jr. (born 1947), an Illinois lawyer and former Congressman, Democrat
Joseph Buford Cox, American inventor
Josephine Cox, English author
Joshua Cox, American actor
Julianna Cox, fictional character from Homicide: Life on the Street
Julie Cox, Scottish actress
Kathy Cox, American politician
Kathy Cox (skydiver), Canadian skydiver
Keith Cox (1933–1998), British geologist
Kenny Ray Cox, American politician and military officer
Kenyon Cox, American artist
Kristen Cox, American politician
Kyoko Chan Cox, daughter of Anthony Cox and Yoko Ono
Laverne Cox, American actress
Leroy (Roy) M. Cox, American entrepreneur
Leslie Reginald Cox (1897–1965), British malacologist
Lionel Cox (1930–2010), Australian track cyclist
Lionel Cox (born 1981), Belgian sport shooter
Lynne Cox, swimmer
Margaret Cox, Irish politician
Marian Roalfe Cox English folklorist
Marion Cox, former NASCAR car owner
Mark Cox (disambiguation), several people
Mason Cox (born 1991), American player of Australian rules football
Mia Cox, American singer-songwriter
Michael Cox (clergyman), Palmarian Archbishop
Michele Cox, New Zealand international women's football (soccer) player
Michael J. Cox, American pharmacist and biographer
Mike Cox (U.S. politician), American politician
Nicholas Cox (disambiguation), several people
Nikki Cox, American actress
Norm Cox (1925–2008), American football player
Oscar Cox, promoter of soccer in Brazil
Palmer Cox, Canadian inventor
Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament
Paul Cox (born 1940), Dutch-born Australian film director
Perrish Cox (born 1987), American football player
Percy Cox, British diplomat
Perry Cox, a fictional character on the TV series Scrubs
Peter Cox (disambiguation), several people
Philip Cox, Australian architect
Reg Cox, fictional character in East Enders soap opera
Renée Cox, American artist and photographer
Richard Cox (bishop), Anglican bishop of the 16th century
Richard Cox (horticulturist), English horticulturist who bred the apple varieties Cox's Orange Pippin and Cox's Pomona.
Richard Colvin Cox, disappeared American cadet
Richard Threlkeld Cox, physicist and statistician (Cox's theorem)
Robert E. Cox, American optical engineer and popularizer of amateur telescope making
Robert Edward Cox, American Medal of Honor recipient
Robert O. Cox, American mayor
Robert W. Cox, Canadian international relations academic
Ron Cox (racing driver), American driver
Ronny Cox, American actor
Roxbee Cox, Lord Kings Norton, British aircraft engineer
Russell M. Cox (1919–1942), American navy officer
Samuel Cox (minister), English Nonconformist minister
Samuel Hanson Cox, American Presbyterian theologian
Samuel S. Cox, American Congressman and diplomat
Sara Cox, British presenter for the BBC
Spencer Cox (disambiguation)
Spencer Cox, AIDS/HIV activist
Stephen Cox, New Zealand cyclist
Spencer Cox, Current Lieutenant Governor of Utah
Steve Cox (disambiguation)
Steve Cox (artist)
Steve Cox (American football)
Steve Cox (baseball)
Steve Cox (wrestler)* Tara Cox, New Zealand international women's football (soccer) player
Ted Cox (baseball), born 1955
Ted Cox (American football) (1903–1989)
Terry Cox, folk rock drummer
Tiequon Cox, American murderer
Thomas Cox (disambiguation), several people
Tony Cox, American actor
Tony Cox, guitarist based in South Africa
Tricia Nixon Cox, wife of Edward F. Cox and daughter of Richard Nixon
Wally Cox, American actor
Wendell Cox, public policy consultant
William Cox (athlete) (1904–1996), United States Olympic medalist
William Cox (pioneer) (1764–1837), Australian road engineer
William Cox (governor) (born 1936), known as Bill Cox, Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor of Australian island state of Tasmania
William George Cox (19th century), colonial official in British Columbia
William John Cox (1941), also known as Billy Jack, American lawyer, author and political activist
William R. Cox (1901–1988), American writer, pulp westerns and mysteries
William Ruffin Cox (1832–1919), American Confederate general in the Civil War, politician
William Sitgreaves Cox (1790–1874), court-martialled acting third lieutenant on the USS Chesapeake (1799)
