Côté

also Cote, Coté

Of the slope — a founding name of the St Lawrence.

Origin: French
Register: French family

The seat of Côté

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Côté community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Côté has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Côté clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Côté clan →

What does the Côté name mean?

Topographic — from côte, a hillside, slope or coast — for a family on the rising or shore-side ground.

The history of Côté

Côté's weight in the New World traces to one settler, Jean Côté, who came from the Mortagne country to New France before 1635 and married Anne Martin in one of the colony's earliest recorded weddings. From that founding couple it spread to become one of the commonest surnames of Quebec — another of the small set of names from which French Canada grew.

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Pick any year from 500 to 1945 and any place on earth — the Côté country, or a shore no Côté ever reached. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Frequently asked

What does the surname Côté mean?

Topographic — from côte, a hillside, slope or coast — for a family on the rising or shore-side ground. Côté's weight in the New World traces to one settler, Jean Côté, who came from the Mortagne country to New France before 1635 and married Anne Martin in one of the colony's earliest recorded weddings.

Is Côté a French surname?

Yes, Côté is a French surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is French, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.

How old is the Côté surname?

Côté's weight in the New World traces to one settler, Jean Côté, who came from the Mortagne country to New France before 1635 and married Anne Martin in one of the colony's earliest recorded weddings. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Côté name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Côté family known for?

Of the slope — a founding name of the St Lawrence. Côté's weight in the New World traces to one settler, Jean Côté, who came from the Mortagne country to New France before 1635 and married Anne Martin in one of the colony's earliest recorded weddings.

Is Cote the same family as Côté?

Yes. Cote is a historical spelling variant of the Côté name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Coté the same family as Côté?

Yes. Coté is a historical spelling variant of the Côté name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Côté surname found today?

French is the primary historical home of the Côté surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same French origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Côté family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Côté family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of French so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Côté family today?

The seat for the head of the Côté family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.