Name of the Week

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Ancient appellation with Scottish heritage
and an astronomical flair.

 

Origin:

Cosmo is the English form of the Ancient Greek name Kosmas. The Greek kosmos was a broad term which generally meant "order, good order, orderly arrangement." Pythagoras is said to have been the first to "the universe" but later it was used to extend to "the whole world," hense the adjective cosmic, used since 1640.

Usage:

According to data from the LGPN, Kosmas was in moderate use in the Classical Greek and Hellenistic period. More common was the spelling Kosmos or Kosmia for women. There were also a variety of other names which contained the element kosmos in use such as Damokosmos, Theokosmos, Kosmagoras, Kosmianos and Kosmiades.  Saints Cosmas and Damian (Kosmas and Damianos) were twin brothers martyred in 303 under the reign of Diocletian. They were phycisians, said to have offered their services with no charge, and, as such, they have been regarded as the patron saints of physicians.  From the 6th century their cult became quite extensive across Christendom thanks to Emperor Justinian I (527–565) who believed he was cured by the saints and built a great church dedicated to them in Constantinople.  The saints later became the patron saints of Milan. The Italian forms Cosimo, Cosme and Cosmo were widely used in Italy and became a favourite among the Medici family, who later became the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.  Despite the fact that Damian was used, albeit rarely, since the 13th century in Britain, Cosmo had failed to take off. There is at least one record of use in the 17th century, in a baptism for Cosmo Beckforde in 1637 in Bramshaw, Wiltshire*.  This instance can be explained by the presence of a local church St Cosmo and St Damian in Sherrington. During the 17th century Cosmo -- still popular in Italy as Cosimo -- was not uncommon Spain and Germany, most likely thanks to the veneration of the saints' relics in Clares, Madrid and Bremen, Germany.  The Grand Duke Cosimos of Tuscany had already been referred to as "Cosmo" in Britain, but the name didn't have much impact until 1720, when Scottish peer and staunch Jacobite Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon gave the name to his eldest son in honour of his friend Cosimo III de' Medici (a Jacobite supporter), and has been passed down in the Gordon family (and the aristocratic families they married into) ever since.  Not long after Cosmo Gordon (the future 3rd Duke of Gordon) was born, other Cosmos appear in Scottish records across all the social classes. It was particularly notable in Moray (the seat of the Dukes of Gordon) and neighbouring counties of Banffshire and Aberdeenshire.  Jacobite supporters were known for declaring their allegance in the names of their children and Cosmo perfectly fit the bill. One notable example is painter Cosmo Alexander (1724–1772), born four years after Cosmo Gordon in Aberdeen to Jacobite parents.  Records for the names from UK censuses shows the name limited but steady use: 1841: 31 males - 25 Scotland; 6 England 1851: 41 males - 22 Scotland; 19 England 1861: 37 males - 15 Scotland; 22 England 1871: 44 males - 14 Scotland; 30 England 1881: 74 males - 28 Scotland; 45 England; 1 Wales 1891: 74 males - 27 Scotland; 42 England; 5 Wales 1901: 85 males - 40 Scotland; 39 England; 6 Wales Data from the 1881 census (right) shows that the name was used in pockets around the country. It was still notable in the neighbouring counties around Moray, as well as the area around Lanarkshire and Middlesex.  Over the 20th century, Cosmo had low but consistent use with only a handful of births per year.  The turn of the 21st century, has seen Cosmo's usage more than quadrupled its previous average birth count. From 5 births (#2020) in 1996, it had almost quadrupled to 18 births (#869) by 1999 in England and Wales.  It reached a peak in both 2007 and 2009 when 24 babies were born with the name.  In Scotland, Cosmo did not rank at all in 2005 or 2006, but has since had a birth count of between 1 and 3 births each year.  In 2013, Cosmo ranked #1404 (17 births) in England and Wales and #697 (3 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * St Cosmas (Cosmo) and St Damian, 3rd-century Christian martyrs. * Cosimo de' Medici (1389-1464), the first of the Medici political dynasty; patron learning and the arts. * Cosimo Bartoli (1503–1572), Italian diplomat and humanist. * Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574), First Grand Duke of Tuscany. * Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany.  * Cosimo III de' Medici (1642–1723), Grand Duke of Tuscany. * Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon (1720-1752), Scottish nobleman. * Cosmo Alexander (1724–1772) was a Scottish portrait painter. * Cosmo Innes (1798-1874), Scottish judge and historian.  * Sir Cosmo Bonsor, 1st Baronet (1848-1929), British MP, chairman of the South Eastern Railway. * Cosmo Lang (1864-1945), British prelate of the Church of England. * Cosmo Hamilton (1870-1942), British playwright. * Cosmo Campoli (1923-1997), American sculptor. Contemporary: * Doug "Cosmo" Clifford (b. 1945), member of the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. * Cosmo Klein (b. 1978), German singer. * Cosmo Jarvis (b.1989), English singer-songwriter and filmmaker. Literature and Other Media: * Cosmo Kramer, from the American TV sitcom Seinfeld. * Cosmo Topper, from the Topper novels by Thorne Smith which were later made into films. * Cosmo, from American animated TV series The Fairly OddParents. * Cosmo Hill, from the novel The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer. * Cosmo the Space Hound, a telepathic Russian space dog from the Marvel Universe.

Variants:

Cosmas, Kosmas (Ancient Greek), Cosimo, Cosmè (Italian), Côme (French), Cosme (Portuguese), Cosmin (Romanian), Kuzma (Russian), Kosma, Kosmas (Polish)

Pronunciation:

KOZ-mō [key]

Possible diminutives:

Coz, Mo

Sibling Names:

Thalia     Ottilie     Hebe     Paloma     Alba     Xanthe  Bertram     Leander     Zephyr     Theron     Rufus     Cyrus

Name Lists:

Slickly Continental

 

If you like Cosmo you may also like:   Rollo, Caspar, Ivo, Atlas, Cato, Orlando, Ludo, Cassian, Ezio, Finlo

 

Thanks to Madelyn for requesting this post.