Coggill

Recorded in several forms as shown below, this is a surname of two possible nationalities and origins. Firstly it may be of Scottish locational origins, from the lands of Cogle in the parish of Watten, in Caithness, or secondly English and also locational from a place called Cogges Hill in the county of Oxfordshire. In both cases the original surname spellings and later variant forms are almost identical, and it is only possible to decide an individiall persons origin, by knowing the birth place of their ancestors. The name spellings including Coghill, Cogill, Cogle, Coggle, Coggell, Coggill, and Coggles. The Scottish surname deives from the pre 7th century Viking "kogel" meaning a "hood", and here used in the transferred sense of "mountain top", whilst the English is similar, deriving from "cogg", a serrated wheel, and therefore meaning "a hill shaped like a cog" . The surname is frequently recorded in Caithness Church Registers from the mid 17th century, and these early recordings include the marriage of Alexander Coghill and Anna Bain in the Canisbay register for July 24th 1653 whilst William Cogill was christened in Thurso on October 25th 1680, and Andrew Coggle in Bowertower in 1790. Other early recordings include Andrew Cogill of Papastour, Waiss parish. in 1628, and in England Mary Coggles was christened at Kings Weight House, Fish Street Hill, London, on April 12th 1758. The earliest recording may be that of John Coghill at the church of St. Michael Bassishaw, London, on September 17th 1592. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.