Coulter is a surname of Scottish and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

origin. Coulter most likely first originated as a

toponymic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

in Scotland among people from areas around Coulter in South

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

Maryculter Maryculter () or Kirkton of Maryculter is a village in the Lower Deeside area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The River Dee separates it from the town of Peterculter, and the B979 road runs through Maryculter. Maryculter House Hotel lies slightly ...

and

Peterculter Peterculter ( sco, Petercouter), also known as Culter (Scots: ''Couter''), is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about inland from Aberdeen city centre. Peterculter is on the northern banks of the River Dee, near the confluences with Crynoch ...

in Aberdeenshire. The

etymological Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...

origins of these place names may be from

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

''cùl tir'', meaning 'back land', or (at least in the case of the Lanarkshire village) from a distortion of the

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonl ...

''Cootyre'', meaning a safe place to store cows. After the Plantation of Ulster when people with the surname migrated from Scotland to the northernmost province of Ireland, the Irish surname ''Uí Coltarain'', meaning "descendants of Coltarain", appears to have been anglicised to Coulter. The ''Uí Coltarain'' were chiefs of the petty-kingdom of Dál Coirbin (within what became the barony of Castlereagh), in the over-kingdom of

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...

John O'Hart John O'Hart (1824–1902) was an Irish genealogist. He was born in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland. A committed Roman Catholic and Irish nationalist, O'Hart had originally planned to become a priest but instead spent two years as a poli ...

, ''Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation'', 5th edition, in two volumes, originally published in Dublin in 1892, reprinted, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976, Vol. 1, p. 819

Notable people

Allen Coulter Allen Coulter is an American television and film director, credited with a number of successful television programs. He has directed two feature films, '' Hollywoodland'', a film regarding the questionable death of George Reeves starring Adrie ...

, American director *

Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...

, American author and conservative political commentator * Ashley Coulter, Canadian singer * Catherine Coulter, American novelist * Cornelia C. Coulter (1885-1960), Professor of Latin at Mount Holyoke College * Dan Coulter, Canadian MLA from British Columbia *

David Coulter (banker) David A. Coulter is an American banker. Currently he is managing director and senior advisor of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm. Prior to joining Warburg Pincus, he was vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (financial services and r ...

(born 1949), director of Warburg Pincus * David Coulter (politician), Democratic Party politician and mayor of Ferndale, Michigan *

David Coulter (minister) David George Coulter, (born 29 December 1957) is a Church of Scotland minister and former military chaplain. From 2014 to 2018, he served as Chaplain General and head of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, British Army. He was previously Prin ...

(born 1957), Church of Scotland minister and RAF chaplain *

David Coulter (karateka) David Michael Coulter is a Scottish karateka. Coulter was the winner of multiple World Karate Championships and European Karate Championships The European Karate Championships are organised by the European Karate Federation each year. His ...

, Scottish martial artist * Declan Coulter, Irish hurler * E. Merton Coulter, American historian *

Isaiah Coulter Isaiah Coulter (born September 18, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rhode Island. He was drafted 171 overall by the Houston Texans in the 20 ...

(born 1998), American football player *

James Coulter (financier) James Coulter (born December 1, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder of private equity firm TPG Capital, originally known as the Texas Pacific Group. Early life and education Coulter was born on December 1, 1959, and ...

, co-founder of private equity firm

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

* Jeanelle Coulter, First Lady of North Carolina *

Joey Coulter Joseph Coulter (born June 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Early career A native of Miami Springs, Florida, Coulter started his racing career in 1998, racing go-karts at West Coast Kart way in Naples, ...

, race car driver * John Coulter (politician), Australian politician * John B. Coulter, American general during the Korean War *

John Merle Coulter John Merle Coulter, Ph. D. (November 20, 1851 – December 23, 1928) was an American botanist and educator. In his career in education administration, Coulter is notable for serving as the president of Indiana University and Lake Forest College a ...

, American botanist, brother of Stanley Coulter * Joseph Coulter, Archdeacon *

Michael Coulter Michael Daley Coulter (born August 29, 1952) is a Scottish cinematographer. He achieved prominence for his collaborations with writer-director Bill Forsyth, and went on to work on high-profile films like '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) ...

(born 1952), Scottish cinematographer * Myron L. Coulter (born 1929), University President and Chancellor *

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

(born 1942), Irish musician * Philip B. Coulter (born 1939; ''Philip Brooks Coulter''), American political scientist and professor emeritus (Prof. em.) of political science (lastly at the University of New Orleans/UNO) *

Richard Coulter (US politician) Richard Coulter (March 1788April 21, 1852) was a Jacksonian member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Richard Coulter was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, a son of state commissioner Eli Coulter and Priscilla Sm ...

, United States Congressman *

Richard Coulter (general) Richard Coulter, Sr. (October 1, 1827 – October 14, 1908) was an American Civil War Colonel and brevet brigadier general of volunteers in the Union Army, a businessman, and banker. During the Civil War he was colonel of the 11th Pennsylvania In ...

, American Civil War general *

Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985), also known mononymously as Ricki-Lee, is a New Zealand-born Australian singer, songwriter, television, and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, grew up on the Gold Coast, Qu ...

, Australian singer * Robert Coulter, Northern Irish politician * Shannon Coulter, founder of # GrabYourWallet consumers-vs-Trump group *

Stanley Coulter Stanley Coulter (June 2, 1853 – June 26, 1943) was an American biologist, brother of J. M. Coulter, born at Ningpo, China, and educated at Hanover College. In 1887 he was appointed professor of biology at Purdue. His publications include mo ...

, American botanist, brother of John Merle Coulter * Tex Coulter, Canadian football player *

Thomas Coulter Thomas Coulter (1793–1843), of Dundalk, was an Irish physician, botanist and explorer. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and founder of that college's herbarium. After completing a medical de ...

, Irish physician, botanist, and explorer *

Wallace H. Coulter Wallace H. Coulter (February 17, 1913 – August 7, 1998) was an American electrical engineer, inventor, and businessman. The best known of his 85 patents is the Coulter principle, which provides a method for counting and sizing microscopic part ...

, American inventor and entrepreneur (brother of Joseph Coulter) * Walter Coulter (1891–1917), Scottish footballer * William A. Coulter (1849–1936), American marine painter Fictional characters: * Eric Coulter, character in Veronica Roth's ''Divergent'' trilogy. *

Marisa Coulter Marisa Coulter (née Delamare) is a fictional character in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy and one of the main antagonists of '' Northern Lights''. She is the former lover of Lord Asriel and is usually called "Mrs Coulter". Des ...

, character in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy

Places

* In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

: ** Coulterville, Ontario * In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

: ** Coulter, South Lanarkshire *In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

: ** Coulter, Iowa ** Coulterville, California ** Coulterville, Illinois **

Coulterville, Pennsylvania Coulter (also known as Coulters, formerly also Coulterville or Coultersville) is an unincorporated community in South Versailles Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along the Youghiogheny River, sout ...

** Coulterville, Sale Creek, Tennessee ** Coulter Creek, Washington

References

{{surname, Coulter Surnames Surnames of Ulster-Scottish origin Surnames of Irish origin Surnames of Scottish origin Surnames of British Isles origin

Notable people

Places

See also

References