This is a far north country name from the Cumbria region of which there are several versions including Coxon, Cogton and Cockton. All derive from the Olde English locational or topographical 'Cocca's Tun' (farm) with 'Cocca' being a personal name of pre 7th Century origins and meaning 'the Son'. There can also be an association with the Norse - Viking 'Kokr' meaning 'sand' and found in such place names as Cockerham and Cockermouth, the overlaps between dialectual transpositions being impossible to separate. The name recordings include John Cockton of Cockfield, Durham who married Margaret Rood in 1701, and Eleanor Cockton of Kirkbridge who married Joseph Jackson in 1729. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Agnes Cockton, which was dated 1611, christened at Wigton, Cumberland, during the reign of King James I of England and VI of Scotland 1603 - 1625. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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