# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**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 30, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/61 "2017-03-30T17:09:05Z")
Bumped. This gentleman’s wife was named Submit. They had nine kids, so I guess it fit: [David Dudley Field I - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dudley_Field_I) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/62 "2017-03-30T18:21:47Z")
There’s the satirical poem about Britain’s divided support in the American Civil War, from Punch magazine IIRC: _Tho’ with the North we sympathize, I must not be forgotten, That with the South we’ve stronger ties, That are composed of cotton._ The textile industry in Britain provided the impetus for financial support to the South. IIRC, the federal government sued the Brits for reparations after the war. Paisley was a town filled with mills where a lot of single women worked, and my dad told me a joke from early in the century: Q: What’s the difference between Paisley and Morocco? A: IN Morocco, the moors come out of the hills… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/63 "2017-03-30T20:15:53Z")
On the subject of unusual first names, I recently learned that the man who treated President Garfield after he was shot was a doctor named Doctor Bliss. I’m not being redundant - his first name was Doctor. And that was his birth name not something he came up with himself. Doctor Doctor Bliss was, unfortunately for Garfield, a quack even by the standards of 19th century medicine. He didn’t believe in antiseptics, nurses, or x-rays. Garfield almost certainly would have survived his shooting if he hadn’t received any medical attention but under Bliss’ care, he was tormented for seventy-nine days and then died. Bliss then submitted a bill for $25,000. ---
**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 31, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/64 "2017-03-31T15:50:41Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > …IIRC, the federal government sued the Brits for reparations after the war… Not quite: [Alabama Claims - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Claims) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/65 "2017-03-31T17:09:31Z")
My favorite was Igor Judge, who became Lord Chief Justice Judge. He has since retired from the bench, so now he’s just [Baron Judge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Judge,_Baron_Judge). ---
**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 5, 2019, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/66 "2019-03-05T06:06:47Z")
Bumped. Just came across a reference to this cousin and comrade of Vermont patriot Ethan Allen: [Remember Baker - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember_Baker) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/67 "2019-03-05T07:24:19Z")
Going back to the original OPs question about the name Cotton. I have an Uncle Cotton, that’s his name ( not nickname) I also have an Uncle Junior and an Uncle Truant. My Granny had a way with names. My Daddy’s name is Initials. That’s all just 2 letters T.A. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/68 "2019-03-05T15:41:15Z")
> [@y58a](#): > > There’s a character named Cotton in Pink Flamingos 1972. Also Babs, Crackers, Edie, Cookie and The Egg Man. It’s too bad The Egg Man never caught on as a given name. How many Jaxons or Lincolns do we need? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/69 "2019-03-05T18:27:08Z")
> [@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? There’s also the Civil War general Bushrod Johnson, whose name sounds like it just \*HAS \*to be a porn star name. There are a series of “That’s a bold move, Cotton” type memes that are floating around these days, and they reference the idiot sports commentators in the movie “Dodgeball- A True Underdog Story”, one of whom is named Cotton. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/70 "2019-03-06T09:29:00Z")
Huh. I had always supposed that the term “cotton-eyed” referred to someone who had severe cataracts in one or both eyes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/71 "2019-03-06T09:32:25Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > There’s the satirical poem about Britain’s divided support in the American Civil War, from Punch magazine IIRC: > > _Tho’ with the North we sympathize, > I must not be forgotten, > That with the South we’ve stronger ties, > That are composed of cotton._ > > The textile industry in Britain provided the impetus for financial support to the South. IIRC, the federal government sued the Brits for reparations after the war. > > Paisley was a town filled with mills where a lot of single women worked, and my dad told me a joke from early in the century: > Q: What’s the difference between Paisley and Morocco? > A: IN Morocco, the moors come out of the hills… I had also been induced to believe that the Brits’ sympathies lay primarily with the Confederacy, with the ulterior motive that a weakened U.S.A. would be a plausible target for re-conquest. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929/72 "2023-09-05T19:50:17Z")
Bumped. This Ohio legislator’s mom’s name, I recently learned, was Temperance: [John Patterson Green - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Patterson_Green) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-given-name-cotton/555929.md?page=3)