Cockburn

C3O1C3K5B3U1R1N1
/ˈkoʊbəɹn//ˈkoʊkbəɹn/

proper noun

A surname from Old English.

OriginOld English cocc →
Less commonScrabble 18
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Meanings

proper nounCockburn (countable and uncountable, plural Cockburns)

plural Cockburns · alternative Coburn

  1. countableuncountableA surname from Old English.
  2. countableuncountableA small town and locality in the outback of South Australia, on the border with New South Wales.
  3. countableuncountableA local government area in Perth, Western Australia, named after Cockburn Sound and Sir George Cockburn; in full, the City of Cockburn.

Origin

  1. Old Englishcocc“cock, rooster”
  2. EnglishCockburn

Scottish habitational surname, from Old English cocc (“cock, rooster”) + burne (“stream, brook, river”).

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Cockburn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cockburn

MLA

“Cockburn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cockburn. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Cockburn,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cockburn.

Source: Cockburn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.