Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Cosintone 1086 DB

• Cosinton' c.1130 LeicSurv 1242 Fees 1316 FA 1335 MiD

• Cosintun 1236 Fees c.1237 GildR 13 MiD

• Cosynton' 1319,1328 Banco 1389 RTemple 1391 Wyg

• Cosenton' l.13 RTemple

• Cosington' 1220 MHW 1254 Val 1314 GarCart 1316 RTemple 1528 1538 MiD 1549 LAS Eliz1 Surv

• Cosingtona c.1280 RTemple

• Cosingthon' 1294 MiD

• Cosyngton' 1290 RTemple l.13 MiD 1539 RTemple 1546 Rental 1560 ISLR 1566 Ct

• Cosynkton 1481 RTemple

• Coshington 1522 MiD

• Cosingetone 1572 ib

• Cossyngton 1330 FA

• Cossynton 1525 AD

• Cossington 1540 Ipm

• Cousington 1304 Pat

• Cusintona 1175 P 1196×1216 Berkeley

• Cusintun 1199×1216 ib

• Cusinton' 1176,1183 P 1299 Banco 13 MiD

• Cusynton 1269 Cur

• Cusenton 1253×58 RHug

• Cusington' 1221,1222 Fine 1331 Banco 1343 RTemple

• Cusyngton' 1352 Peake 1357,1384 Pat 1504 RTemple

• Cussington 1251 Cur 1254 Ass 1604 SR 1613,1625,1628 LML

• Cussyngton' 1389 RTemple

• Cussinton 1576 Saxton 1610 Speed

Etymology

'The village or estate associated with or called after a man named Cos(s)a or Cus(s)a', v. -ingtūn . The specific of this p.n. is an OE pers.n.While Cus (s )a is recorded (v. Searle 147), Cos (s )a survives only in p.ns., as in Corshaw (W 95) and Cosham (Ha 59). Spellings of Cossington with -ss - are as a whole rather late, which suggests either Cosa or Cusa as the form of the pers.n.

In Leics., p.ns. of this type appear to belong to the eighth cent., and may indicate a developing manorial structure. They are present in particular in a group in the west of the county, an area which was exploited comparatively late, v. Barrie Cox, 'Aspects of place-name evidence for early medieval settlement in England', Viator 11 (1980), 35–50 at 44–5.