Cottie
A diminutive form of the name Cotty, a feminine variant of Cuthbert.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Cottie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cottie today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cottie births was 1918 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cottie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Cottie is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cotties were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cottie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1918
6 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1950 SSA rank
#5,449
Tracked since 1890
Popularity
Cottie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cottie from the 1890s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Cottie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cottie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cottie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cottie
The given name Cottie is a diminutive form derived from the Old English name Cotta or Cott. This name can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th century. The original name Cotta or Cott is believed to have been a nickname or a shortened form of names containing the element "cot," which meant "cottage" or "small dwelling."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cottie can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The Domesday Book mentions a person named Cottie who held a small estate in the county of Gloucestershire.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cottie appeared in various historical records and documents, particularly in areas with strong Anglo-Saxon influence. In the 13th century, a notable figure named Cottie de Braybrooke served as a knight and landowner in Northamptonshire.
In the 15th century, a priest and scholar named Cottie Wycliffe, who was a relative of the renowned religious reformer John Wycliffe, was a prominent figure in the University of Oxford. Another individual named Cottie Caxton, born around 1420, was a merchant and printer who played a significant role in introducing the printing press to England.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Cottie Latimer, born in 1535, was a prominent courtier and member of the gentry in Northamptonshire. She is remembered for her involvement in the political and religious turmoil of the English Reformation.
In the 18th century, Cottie Jenkinson, born in 1729, was a notable English lawyer and politician who served as the Secretary at War and as the President of the Board of Trade under the administration of King George III.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the given name Cottie, showcasing its longevity and presence in various historical contexts and periods, particularly in England and areas with strong Anglo-Saxon heritage.
People
Cottie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cottie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cottie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cottie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cottie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Cottie a common name?
We classify Cottie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cottie most popular?
The single biggest year for Cottie was 1918, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cottie is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cottie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cottie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cottie in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cottie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cottie in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cottie can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Cottie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.