A reliable meaning for Cotter isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1990. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cotter through the years
Babies since 1880
51
51 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1992
7 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
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Too few births to compare
Cotter in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1990–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 115 as a first name in 2020; 11,381 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cotter’s family of names
In English usage, Cotter as a surname has a related form in COTTIER.