Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Couzins Family Crest / Couzins Coat of ArmsThe surname of COUZINS was derived from the Old French 'cusin' a kinsman or kinswoman. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066. Early records of the name mention Aethelstane Chusin AD977 Canterbury, Kent. Roger Cusin, was documented in the year 1166 in the County of Norfolk. Thomas Cossin of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. William le Cusyn, ibid. Edmund Cosin was Vice-chancellor of Cambridge University in the year 1558. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. Samuel Cousins (1801-1887) was the English engraver, born in Exeter. In 1814 he was apprenticed to Sanuel William Reynolds and in 1826, started his own account and produced the 'Master Lambton' which at once established his reputation. The name has many variant spellings which include Cousen, Cousens, Couzens, Cousin, Cussons and Cossin. 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 draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. |
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