Cottier is a surname. It is of English origin, but can also be an Americanized form of a French and Swiss surname.

Origin of the surname

The surname ''Cottier'' is of English origin and a variant of the surname '' Cotter''. This English surname is a status name, for a '' cotter''. This name is made up of the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

elements ''cot'' "cottage", "hut" and the suffix ''er''. In the

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structu ...

a cotter held a cottage by service (rather than by rent). Similarly, Reaney gives the surname deriving from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

''cotier'' "cottager" (see:

villein A villein, otherwise known as ''cottar'' or '' crofter'', is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and social status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them ...

). Early bearers of the English surname are Robert le Robert ''le Cotier'' in 1198; and William ''le Coter''(''e'') in 1270 and 1297. The surname ''Cottier'', in some cases, is an

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...

form of the French ''

Gauthier Gauthier () is a French name of Germanic origin, corresponding to the English given name Walter. People with the given name * Gauthier de Costes, seigneur de la Calprenède * Gauthier de Brienne, Counts Walter III of Brienne, Walter IV of Brienne, ...

''. The French surname ''Gauthier'' (also found in Switzerland) is derived from a Germanic personal name made up of the elements ''wald'' "rule" and ''hari'', ''heri'' "army".

Variations

The surname can be rendered into the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

and the

Manx language Manx ( or , pronounced or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the historical language of the Manx p ...

as '' Mac Coitir'' and '' Mac Oitir''.

People with the surname

* Alex Cottier (born 1973), an English former international footballer. * Anton Cottier (1943-2006), a Swiss politician. *

Belva Cottier Belva Cottier (June 27, 1920May 2, 2000) was an American Rosebud Sioux activist and social worker. She proposed the idea of occupying Alcatraz Island in 1964 and was one of the activists who led the protest for return of the island to Native A ...

(1920–2000), a Rosebud Sioux activist and social worker. * Charles Cottier (born 1992), an Australian actor. *

Daniel Cottier Daniel Cottier (1838–1891) was a British artist and designer born in Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland. His work was said to be influenced by the writing of John Ruskin, the paintings of the Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the work of William Morris. H ...

(1837-1891), a Scottish artist and stained glass designer. * Chuck Cottier, (born 1936), an American former baseball player. * Frédéric Cottier (born 1954), a French equestrian and Olympic medalist. *

Georges Cottier Georges Marie Martin Cottier O.P., (25 April 1922 – 31 March 2016) was a Swiss prelate and theologian of the Catholic Church who served from 1990 to 2005 as theologian to Pope John Paul II as Theologian of the Pontifical Household after a ca ...

, (1922-2016), a Swiss Cardinal. * Gérald Cottier (born 1931), a Swiss basketball player. * Pierre Cottier (born 1908, date of death unknown), a Swiss weightlifter.

References

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