Cockfosters
Early-attested site in the Parish of East Barnet
Historical Forms
- Cokfosters 1524 SR
- Cockffosters 1610,1612 Rental
Etymology
Cockfosters is Cokfosters 1524SR , Cockffosters 1610, 1612Rental . The origin of this name is uncertain. It has been suggested (e.g. in Walford's Greater London i, 368) that the meaning is 'little hut of the foresters,' the first element being the OFr bicoque , 'little hut or hovel,' but this is an impossible formation. It may be, however, that Cockfoster was the name of a man, though the surname has not been met with in any record relating to East Barnet or Enfield. Cockfoster might mean 'head forester, cock forester,' cock is recorded from the 17th century in this sense (cf. NED s. v. cock sb., 22). Cf. Cock Sheperdes (1556), a field-name in Stanstead. The place is partly in Enfield (Mx).