Cotton is an Anglo-Saxon surname, derived from place names such as Coton, Cottam and Cotham, which in turn are named for the Old English word ''cot'' meaning cottage or hut, and as an (unrelated) French surname, from the diminutive of ''cotte'', meaning coat of mail. Notable people with the surname include:

Athletes

Amy Cotton Amy Cotton (born 22 January 1980) is a judoka from Canada, who won the bronze medal in the women's half heavyweight division (-78 kg) at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She represented Canada at the 2004 S ...

(born 1980), Canadian judoka * Coby and Cory Cotton (born 1987), co-creators of

Dude Perfect Dude Perfect (DP) is an American sports and comedy group headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The group consists of Tyler "TT" Toney, twins Cory and Coby Cotton, Garrett "Purple Hoser" Hilbert, and Cody "Tall Guy" Jones, all of whom are former colleg ...

* Craig Cotton (1947–2013), American football player *

Fran Cotton Francis Edward Cotton (born 3 January 1947) is a former rugby union prop forward who played for England and the British Lions. His clubs included Coventry R.F.C. and Sale. After retiring, he remained in rugby administration and founded a clo ...

(born 1947), rugby footballer of the 1970s and 1980s * Harold Cotton (cricketer) (1914–1966), Australian cricketer *

Harold Cotton (ice hockey) Harold William "Baldy" Cotton (November 5, 1902 – September 9, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans. Playi ...

(1902–1984), Canadian ice hockey player *

Henry Cotton (golfer) Sir Thomas Henry Cotton, MBE (28 January 1907 – 22 December 1987) was an English professional golfer. He won the Open Championship in 1934, 1937 and 1948, becoming the leading British player of his generation. The Rookie of the Year award in ...

(1907–1987), English golfer * James Cotton (basketball) (born 1975), American basketball player * James Cotton (gridiron football) (born 1978), American football player *

Jeff Cotton (American football) Jeff Cotton Jr. (born April 17, 1997) is an American gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Idaho after playing for two years at Pima Community College. Professional career Los Angeles Charge ...

(born 1997), American football player *

Jharel Cotton Jharel Leandre Cotton (born January 19, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants. Cotton ...

(born 1992), American baseball player * Keith Cotton (born 1942), rugby footballer of the 1960s and 1970s *

Lester Cotton Lester Cotton Sr. (born February 20, 1996) is an American football offensive guard for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. He p ...

(born 1996), American football player *

Paris Cotton Paris Cotton (born November 2, 1989) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Central Michigan University and attended Hialeah High School in Hialeah, Florida. He has also been a member of ...

(born 1989), American football player *

Schea Cotton Vernon Scheavalie "Schea" Cotton (born May 20, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He was highly touted as a high school player, when he seemed destined to play professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

(born 1978), American basketball player * Terry Cotton (born 1946), English footballer

Musicians

Billy Cotton William Edward Cotton (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) as Billy Cotton was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Cotton is now mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio a ...

(1899–1969), British band leader *

Gene Cotton Gene Cotton (born June 30, 1944 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American pop and folk singer-songwriter. He is best known for his four ''Billboard'' top 40 entries during the years 1976–1978. In the UK, he is most famous for the song "Me and the E ...

(born 1944), American pop and folk singer-songwriter *

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

(1935–2017), American blues harmonica player, singer, songwriter *

Jeff Cotton Jeffrey Ralph Cotton (born May 31, 1948) is an American rock guitarist, known for his work as a member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band. Cotton first came to attention as guitarist with Merrell and the Exiles, who had a few local hits in 1 ...

(born 1949), American rock guitarist *

Paul Cotton Norman Paul Cotton (February 26, 1943July 31, 2021) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the band Poco and the writer of their international hit song "Heart of the Night". Before that, he was co-guitarist for the ...

(1943–2021), American guitar player

Politicians and nobility

Dorothy Cotton Dorothy Cotton (June 9, 1930 – June 10, 2018) was an American civil rights activist, who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and a member of the inner-circle of one of its main organizations, the Southern Christian ...

(1930–2018), American civil rights activist *

George W. Cotton George Witherage Cotton (1821–1892) was a South Australian land dealer and Member of the South Australian Legislative Council. He was especially notable for being a champion of a scheme in South Australia to put working men onto small blocks ...

(1821–1892), South Australian politician *

Norris Cotton Norris Henry Cotton (May 11, 1900 – February 24, 1989) was an American politician from the state of New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Representative and subsequently as a U.S. Senator. Early life Cotton was ...

(1900–1989), American politician *

Paul Cotton (diplomat) Paul Charles Cotton (27 March 1930 – 16 July 2022) was a New Zealand public servant, diplomat and journalist. He served as List of High Commissioners from New Zealand to Samoa, High Commissioner to Samoa from 1975 to 1977, non-resident List o ...

(born 1930), New Zealand diplomat * Robert Bell Cotton (1859–1917), American politician *The

Cotton baronets There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Cotton, all in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2008. The Cotton Baronetcy, of Conington in the County of Huntingdon, was created in the Baronetage of ...

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician, attorney, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator for Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of R ...

(born 1977), American politician

Science and engineering

Aimé Cotton Aimé Auguste Cotton (9 October 1869 – 16 April 1951) was a French physicist known for his studies of the interaction of light with chiral molecules. In the absorption bands of these molecules, he discovered large values of optical rotator ...

(1869–1951), French scientist **

Cotton effect The Cotton effect in physics, is the characteristic change in optical rotatory dispersion and/or circular dichroism in the vicinity of an absorption band of a substance. In a wavelength region where the light is absorbed, the absolute magnitude o ...

, named after Aimé Cotton **

Cotton–Mouton effect In physical optics, the Cotton–Mouton effect is the birefringence in a liquid in the presence of a constant transverse magnetic field. It is a similar but stronger effect than the Voigt effect (in which the medium is a gas instead of a liquid ...

, named after Aimé Cotton and Henri Mouton *Sir

Arthur Cotton General Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton (15 May 1803 – 24 July 1899) was a British general and irrigation engineer. Cotton devoted his life to the construction of irrigation and navigation canals throughout British India. He helped many people by b ...

(1803–1899), British general and engineer famous for his work in India *

Arthur Disbrowe Cotton Arthur Disbrowe Cotton, OBE (15 January 1879 – 27 December 1962) was an English plant pathologist, mycologist, phycologist, and botanist. A.D. Cotton was born in London and educated at King's College School and the Royal College of ...

(1879–1962), English plant pathologist, mycologist, phycologist, and botanist *

Bernard Charles Cotton Bernard Charles Cotton (2 February 1905 – 3 May 1966) was an Australian malacologist and museum curator of British origin. Life Cotton was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, where he was educated at Abbeyfield House. He immigrated, with his parents, ...

(1905–1966), Australian malacologist * Carl Cotton (1918–1971), American taxidermist *

Charles Cotton (geologist) Sir Charles Andrew Cotton (24 February 1885 – 29 June 1970) was a New Zealand geologist and geomorphologist, described as one of the leading scientists that New Zealand has produced. Early life and family Born in Dunedin, Cotton was educate ...

(1885–1970), New Zealand geologist * Émile Cotton (1872–1950), French mathematician, discoverer of the Cotton tensor *

F. Albert Cotton Frank Albert Cotton FRS (April 9, 1930 – February 20, 2007) was an American chemist. He was the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. He authored over 1600 scientific articles. C ...

(1930–2007), American inorganic chemist *

Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet (22 January 1570/71 – 6 May 1631) of Conington Hall in the parish of Conington in Huntingdonshire, England,Kyle, Chris & Sgroi was a Member of Parliament and an antiquarian who founded the Cotton library. ...

(1571–1631), antiquarian and bibliophile, creator of the basis of the British Library

Television

Antony Cotton Antony Cotton (born Antony Dunn; 5 August 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Sean Tully in ''Coronation Street'', as well as portraying Alexander Perry in the original '' Queer as Folk'' series. In 2007, Cotton hosted ...

(born 1975), British actor, best known for his roles in ''Coronation Street'' and ''Queer as Folk'' (UK) *

Bill Cotton Sir William Frederick Cotton (23 April 1928 – 11 August 2008) was a British television producer and executive, and the son of dance band leader Billy Cotton. The TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton is related to him, as he was her paternal ...

(1928–2008), British television executive *

Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', ...

(born 1981), English television presenter and radio 1 DJ *

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(Eastenders)

Other

Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Comp ...

(1630–1687), poet * Charles Cotton (disambiguation), several people * David Cotton (born 1950/1951), American billionaire businessman * Frederick Conyers Cotton (1807–1901), British Indian army officer *

John Cotton (minister) John Cotton (4 December 1585 – 23 December 1652) was a clergyman in England and the American colonies and was considered the preeminent minister and theologian of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He studied for five years at Trinity College, Camb ...

(1585–1652), clergyman, grandfather of Cotton Mather *

Mary Ann Cotton Mary Ann Cotton (' Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English convicted murderer who was executed for poisoning her stepson. Despite her sole conviction for murder, she is believed to have been a serial killer who killed many o ...

(1832–1873), British serial killer *

Richard Lynch Cotton Richard Lynch Cotton (14 August 17948 December 1880) was a British vicar and academic administrator at the University of Oxford. Cotton was born in Whitchurch, Oxfordshire, the son of Henry Calveley Cotton and Matilda Lockwood, one of 11 childr ...

(1794–1880), British vicar and university administrator * Robert Cotton (disambiguation), several people * Sarah Cotton (1815–1878), British wife of the academic and medic Sir Henry Acland, inspiration for the Acland Hospital *Sir

Sydney Cotton Lieutenant-General Sir Sydney John Cotton (2 December 1792 – 19 February 1874) was a British Army officer. He was the commandment of the Moreton Bay penal colony in Australia. Military career Born the second son of Henry Calveley Cotton of Wo ...

(1792–1874), British Army officer. *

Thomas Cotton Thomas Cotton may refer to: * Thomas Cotton (MP for Huntingdonshire) (died 1574), MP for Huntingdonshire *Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet, of Connington (1594–1662), English politician *Sir Thomas Cotton, 2nd Baronet, of Combermere (c. 1672–1715 ...

, several people * William Cotton (disambiguation), several people

References

{{surname, Cotton English-language surnames