Given name & surname
Cotton
“resembling the comfortable fabric”·“resembling 'or farmer of the plant”
Cotton is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “resembling the comfortable fabric” (American) and “resembling 'or farmer of the plant” (American). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “resembling the comfortable fabric” (American) and “resembling 'or farmer of the plant” (American). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is American.
How it developed
From Old English cottūn (“cottage farmstead”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1918. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cotton through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 507
- 507 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 31 babies
- 2025
- 9
- #8,388 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −43%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,388 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 43.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 31 in 2015. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 480 as a first name in 2020; 31,686 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.
Cotton’s family of names
Cotton has a related form in Cottan. Cotton has a related form in Cottea. Cotton has a related form in Cotteah.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Cottievariant
- Cottanvariant
- Cottunvariant
- Cottynvariant
- Cottenvariant
- Cottinvariant
- Cotteahvariant
- Cotteavariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Cotton
- Cotton MatherAmerican religious minister and scientific writer (1663–1728)
- Cotton WarburtonAmerican film editor and football player (1911-1982)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Cotton, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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