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  Cockfield Family Crest / Cockfield Coat of ArmsThis English surname of COCKFIELD was a locational name meaning 'one who came from COCKFIELD' a place in County Durham. The name was originally rendered in the Old English form COCCAS FELD, literally meaning the dweller at the settlement of COCCA. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, a stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. The associated coat of arms for the name COCKFIELD are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Registered in County Kent. The earliest of the name on record appear to be COKEFELD (without surname) who was recorded in Suffolk, England in the year 950, and COCHFELD (without surname) was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th Century. The employment in the use of a second name was a custom that was first introduced from the Normans. They themselves had not long before adopted them. It became, in course of time, a mark of gentler blood, and it was deemed a disgrace for gentlemen to have but one single name, as the meaner sort had. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the flowing and draped garment worn over the armour. |
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