Cornish surnames C

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letter C    
     
Surname Meaning
     
CADDY, CADY, CADE ke-dy, house surronded by a hedge 251
CADWALADER, CADWALLADER name of a Welsh saint 0
CADWELL related to CADWALADER 38
CALF, CALFF caf, cave, only the surname CALF was found in 1881 57
CANN can, brightness, splendour 172
CANT poss: from Latin canti, corner, hence people of the corner 1
CARAH, CARA, CARO, CAROE, KERROW (ker)car-ow, forts or earthworks (ker sometimes mutates to car), or poss: cara, to love, a loved one 41
CARBINES carn-byan, little rock pile 35
CARBIS car-(p)bons, cart bridge (p mutates to b) 142
CARDELL carn Dell, Dell's rock pile 64
CARDER, CARTER (ker)car-(t)dyr, land by the fort (ker sometimes mutates to car)(t mutates to d) 470 of those found in 1881 were CARTER 479
CARDEW (ker)car-du, dark fort or earthwork (ker sometimes mutates to car) 49
CARDY, CARTY, CARTHY (ker)car-dy, house by the fort (ker sometimes mutates to car) only CARTHY was found in 1881 9
CARE (ker)car, fort or earthwork (ker sometimes mutates to car) 124
CAREW kerrow, forts 4
CAREY, CARY, CARRY (ker)car, fort or earthwork (ker sometimes mutates to car) or poss: from cara, to love, a loved one 25
CARGEEG, CARGEEGE, CARKEEK (ker)car-ke-ek, fort with a hedge around it (ker sometimes mutates to car) 65
CARHART (ker)car-hordh, fort of the ram (ker sometimes mutates to car) 80
CARKEET, KARKEET poss: (ker)car-keth, fort of the serf (ker sometimes mutates to car) 47
CARLIN (ker)car-lyn, fort by the pool (ker sometimes mutates to car) 0
CARLUS, CARLOSS (ker)car-los, grey fort (ker sometimes mutates to car), CARLUS might not be a Cornish surname 9
CARLYON, CORLYON (ker)car-lyjyon, camp of the legion, or (ker)car-leghen, earthwork of slate or shale (ker sometimes mutates to car) 281
CARNALL, CARNELL poss: carn-hal, rock pile on the moor 19
CARNE carn, rock pile 426
CARNSEW carn-su, dark pile of rocks (su is a variant of du) 14
CARRACK, CARRICK carrek, rocky mass 1
CARRIVICK poss: from place name Carevick, Cubert parish 31
CARTHEW (ker)car-du, dark camp or dark fort (ker sometimes mutates to car) (d mutates to soft th) 153
CARVETH, CARVATH, CORVETH (ker)car-(m)vergh, camp of the horses (ker sometimes mutates to car) (m mutates to v) 106
CARVOLTH poss: carn-(m)volgh, rock pile of the thrush (m mutates to v) (thrush is actually molgh los) 40
CARVOSO, CARVOSSO, CARVOSOE, CARVOSSOE poss: (ker)car-fos-ow, fort with walls or ditches, place in Ludgvan, Carvossa, in 1775 it was Carvossow 17
CARWANA (ker)car-whennen, camp of weeds (ker sometimes mutates to car) 0
CARWIN, CARWYN (ker) car-(g)wyn, white camp (ker sometimes mutates to car) (g is dropped) 1
CASE, CASS poss: cas, war, or battle, 781 of those in 1881 were CASE 818
CASLEY, CAUSLEY caslys, headquarters or entrenchment, CASLEY is by far the most common 113
CASTINE poss: cas-tyn, cruel war 3
CATTRAN Cornish form of Catherine? 62
CAVILL, CAVELL poss: Cyvel, a personal name, or kevyl, horse 34
CAWRSE cors, bog 56
CHARKE unknown meaning 7
CHEFFERS, CHIFFERS, CHIVERS chy fer, house by the fair 44
CHEGWIN, CHEGWYN, CHIGWIN  chy gwyn, white house 83
CHEGWIDDEN, CHYGWIDDEN, CHEGWEDDEN, CHIRGWIDEN chy gour gwyn, house of the white (fair) man (first g is dropped), place-name in St. Levan. 212
CHELLEW chy logh, house by the lake, or chy Lew, house of Lew 113
CHENERY chy-nerewey, house in bounds 0
CHENHALLS chy an als, house on the cliff 23
CHENHELL, CHENHALL chy an hal, house on the moor 9
CHENOWETH, CHYNOWETH chy noweth, new house 180
CHIRGWIN chy gour gwyn, house of the white (fair) man (first g is dropped) 84
CHIVELL poss: chy aval, house of apple 23
CHIVERTON chy war ton, house on the unplowed grassland 0
CHOAK chok, jackdaw 35
CHOWN, CHOWNE, CHONE, CHOWEN, CHOWAN, CHOWING, CHOWINS, CHOUNENS, CHUNN, CHAWN chy-woon, house on the down. Chun & Chywoon in West Penwith share this origin. While only 25 persons are living in Cornwall in 1881 there are many hundreds in Devon, possibly leading to an origin in that area. 25
CLEGG poss: clegh, bells, thus a bell ringer 4
CLEMO, CLIMO, CLEMOW, CLYMO, CLYMOW, CLEMMOW of Clement's family 489
CLEWS breakaway from surname Carclew 1
CLINOCK, CLINICK, CLINNICK, CLYNICK poss: from lonek,bushy place 33
CLOGG clog, crag or cliff 55
CLOKE, CLOAK, CLOAKE, CLOOK clogh, bell, or clog, crag or cliff, only 4 CLOOKs were found in 1881 126
CLYMAS, CLIMAS unknown meaning 13
COAD, COADE, CODE, COOD coth, old or cos, wood, only one COOD was found in 1881 374
COATH coth, old 45
COCK, COCKS poss: cok, a type of sail boat, or cok, empty or vain, it is possible that COX is included in this group in Cornwall, if so add 181 to the total, it is also plausible that COCKS is really COX if so deduct 79 from total. 1283
COGAR poss: chogha, jackdaw a nickname for a chatterer 22
COLENSO, COLENSOE, CALLENSO ke lyn su, dark hedged pool, or poss: for CALLENSO, callen-su, dark layer of iron-ochre on a rock-face 102
COLLETT collwedh, hazel trees 107
COLLEY, COLLIE, COLLY, COLLE coll-egy, hazel place 3
COLLICK, COLLECK, COLLECT, COLLICT coll-yk, little hazel grove 67
COLLIS coll-ys, lower hazel grove or poss: goles, bottom or lowest part 3
COLLIVER coll-egy-va, place of hazels 55
COLQUITE poss: kyl-cos, back of wood 0
COMBELLACK, COMBELLICK poss: carn pellek, small rounded rockpile 108
CONGDON poss: corn dyn, corner fort 297
CONNER personal name Conor 43
COOMBE, COOMBES, COOM cum, little valley? 479
COON cun, dogs 87
COPP poss: cop, summit 23
COREY, CORY poss: cor-e(g)y,corner place  
CORIN, CORYN cor-yn, in a corner 142
CORNISH, CORNWALL from Anglo Saxon, Corn-welas, stranger of the horn or headland, only two entries for CORNWALL were found in 1881 366
COSSENTINE, CONSTANTINE from Constantine perhaps the saint 45
COTHEY coth-e(g)y, old place, or cothhe, to grow old 13
COTTELL, COTELL, COTTLE cos-hayl, wood near the estuary 124
COUCH cough, red 588
COWLING, COWLIN, COWLYN poss: from cawlen, cabbage, poss: cow-lyn, pool in a hollow 523
COWLS, COULLS, COULES cowel, basket 141
CRADDOCK, CRADOCK, CRADDICK, CRADICK personal name Caradoc 150
CRAGO, CRAGOE crugyow, barrows or mounds 229
CRAGGS, CRAIG carrek, rocky mass 25
CRAPP poss: crapya, to grip 154
CRAZE, CRASE cres, middle 252
CREBO, CREBA, CREEBA crybow, reefs or ridges 47
CREED poss: from parish names Creed or Sancreed or the Cornish saint Creed 2
CREEK crug, mound 0
CROCKER, CROKER unknown meaning, only 8 of 375 were CROKER 375
CROGGAN, CROGGON poss: croghen, skin, hide, leather 14
CROWGEY crow-(ch)jy, a hut, or single-roomed cottage (ch mutuates to j) 10
CROWLE, CROWL poss: crow(le), a cottager. Specifially a one-roomed cottage. 282
CUFF, CUFFE cuf, dear or kind 0
CULLUM from Saint Columb 3
CUNNACK, CONNOCK, CUNNICK connek, clever skillfull, or from personal name Conoc, quite possibly not a Cornish name as CONNOCK, CANNOCK etc. appear in the West Country. 7
CUNDY cun dy, house of dogs 204
CURGENVEN car-Cenwyn, camp of Kenwyn 72
CURNOW Kernow, Cornishman 816
CURROW currow, borders of country 30
CURRY, CURRIE unknown meaning 52
CURTIS, COURTIS, COURTICE, CORTEYS, COURTIES poss: cortys, courts or cortes, courtous 561
     

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