# The given name "Cotton". **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929 "2010-10-03T17:09:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/41 "2010-10-08T20:27:59Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > > [@samclem](#): > > > > I’d be surprised if there was a “cotton industry” in Lancashire as early as the mid sixteenth century. Textile industry, OK. But “cotton”–no way. > > OK, the earliest internet cite I can find is mid seventeenth - 1641, to be precise (for Bolton, if anyone’s interested). If I can be bothered I’ll dig out my old books and find the bit about fustian and the clamouring wool traders a century earlier - as if a hundred years makes any difference. It’s still a ridiculous example of ignorance for them to claim that cotton was “never a big source of industry in Britain”. They said “though the cotton plant, requiring a warm climate, was never a big source of industry in Britain” A slight difference, I’d say. They’re saying that not much cotton was grown in Britain. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/42 "2010-10-08T20:56:54Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > > [@Teacake](#): > > > > OK, the earliest internet cite I can find is mid seventeenth - 1641, to be precise (for Bolton, if anyone’s interested). If I can be bothered I’ll dig out my old books and find the bit about fustian and the clamouring wool traders a century earlier - as if a hundred years makes any difference. It’s still a ridiculous example of ignorance for them to claim that cotton was “never a big source of industry in Britain”. > > They said > “though the cotton plant, requiring a warm climate, was never a big source of industry in Britain” > A slight difference, I’d say. They’re saying that not much cotton was grown in Britain. No, they’re not. They are stating as fact their incorrect assumption that because the cotton plant couldn’t actually grow in Britain, Britain never had anything to do with cotton as a product. It may not have been grown here, but it was definitely a big SOURCE of industry: in that the cotton industry wouldn’t have existed without it. Therefore the person who wrote that is clearly ignorant of a major industrial past. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/43 "2010-10-08T21:01:57Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > They said > > “though the cotton plant, requiring a warm climate, was never a big source of industry in Britain” > > A slight difference, I’d say. They’re saying that not much cotton was grown in Britain. > > No, they’re not. They are stating as fact their incorrect assumption that because the cotton plant couldn’t actually grow in Britain, Britain never had anything to do with cotton as a product. It may not have been grown here, but it was definitely a big SOURCE of industry: in that the cotton industry wouldn’t have existed without it. Therefore the person who wrote that is clearly ignorant of a major industrial past. Okie-dokie, Kiddo. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/44 "2013-03-10T22:07:17Z")
Just stumbled across a reference to this Anglican archbishop: [Accepted Frewen - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accepted_Frewen) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/45 "2013-03-10T22:18:44Z")
What about Constable Visit-the-Infidels-with-Pamphlets? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/46 "2013-03-11T00:25:28Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Fly-Fornication Richardson and Kill-Sin Pimple probably thought names like that were perfectly okay. > > (As I understand it, it was the habit of Puritan groups in the new world to name children by opening the family Bible at random and using the first word or phrase their eyes alighted upon. It did right by Fear-God Barebone, but If-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned Barebone changed his name to Nicholas.) > > [One cite of many](http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2009/03/unusual-puritan-names.html), as the names ought to be easy to google. I remember reading in a book about the Salem witch trials that it was kind of a popular thing in the late 17th century to give children unusual first names, hence Increase and Cotton Mather. Probably like in rap music, everyone has a wild nickname. There was a basketball coach named Lowell Fitzsimmons who was nicknamed “Cotton”, presumably because of his gray hair (wiki doesn’t say but that’s what I remember). ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/47 "2013-03-11T01:29:36Z")
In _King of the Hill_, Cotton was the name of Hank’s father. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/48 "2013-03-11T01:40:13Z")
> [@Renifer](#): > > In _King of the Hill_, Cotton was the name of Hank’s father. Mentioned in the OP. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/49 "2013-03-11T01:46:28Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Mentioned in the OP. 😉 Give 'em a break. The OP was two and a half years ago. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/50 "2013-03-11T03:28:19Z")
Well, since this thread has degenerated (devolved?) into something about all things named ‘cotton’, I’ll proffer the term ‘cotton mouse’. It’s kind of a ‘trade specific’ term, used by plumbers to describe a clog in a drain pipe. It referred to a ball of fibers that usually started out life as a woman’s Tampon or panty liners that got flushed. This was in the days before the invention of the biodegradable/flushable type, I say that because I can’t recall having heard it used in the last 20 or so years. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/51 "2013-03-11T16:31:09Z")
I knew someone named “Low.” It was not shortened from anything. Just “Low.” He went by his middle name instead. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bob\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_X)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/52 "2013-03-11T17:56:32Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Love those strange old names. I was surprised when I discovered that [Learned Hand](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_Hand) wasn’t just a fictional wise judge used in hypotheticals, but an actual historial figure. > > Another one I first heard in **America: The Book** was George Washington’s nephew, [Bushrod Washington](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushrod_Washington). Whenever I hear a name like “Learned” or “Bushrod”, I wonder: what did their friends call them when they were growing up? The judge’s friends called him “Stupid Foot”. Washington’s friends called him “Nimrod”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/53 "2013-03-11T18:00:26Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Fly-Fornication Richardson and Kill-Sin Pimple probably thought names like that were perfectly okay. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > But why do you ask, Two Dogs Fucking?" Do they call me **Ludovic the Bridge Builder**? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/54 "2013-03-11T18:04:28Z")
> [@Bob\_X](#): > > …[Bushrod] Washington’s friends called him “Nimrod”. Oddly enough, although the name is now synymous with “doofus” or “loser,” the original Nimrod was something of a badass: [Nimrod - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/55 "2013-03-12T03:40:54Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Whenever I hear a name like “Learned” … I wonder: what did their friends call them when they were growing up? Lrrr (of Omicron Persei 8) > [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > I knew someone named “Low.” It was not shortened from anything. Just “Low.” “Hi, Low.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/56 "2013-03-12T06:27:40Z")
" 'lo." ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/57 "2013-03-13T15:10:31Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Oddly enough, although the name is now synymous with “doofus” or “loser,” the original Nimrod was something of a badass: [Nimrod - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod) I’ve wondered if/assumed that the Bugs Bunny cartoons were the reason that “nimrod” became slang for a loser/idiot, as Bugs occasionally referred to Elmer Fudd as a “nimrod” - making fun of his hunting skills. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/58 "2013-06-19T20:18:32Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > I’ve wondered if/assumed that the Bugs Bunny cartoons were the reason that “nimrod” became slang for a loser/idiot, as Bugs occasionally referred to Elmer Fudd as a “nimrod” - making fun of his hunting skills. Quite possibly. That was more exposure than that name had had in many years, I think. Just came across a reference in David McCullough’s _John Adams_ to the President’s cousin, Dr. Cotton Tufts!: [Cotton Tufts - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Tufts) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/59 "2013-06-19T20:42:47Z")
When I was a kid and lived in Oklahoma my grandpa had a small farm and his small farmer neighbors’ name was Cotton. He was a cranky old sunovabitch. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/60 "2013-06-22T00:55:27Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > When I was a kid and lived in Oklahoma my grandpa had a small farm and his small farmer neighbors’ name was Cotton. He was a cranky old sunovabitch. First or last name? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929.md?page=4)