Couche Family History & Genealogy

History

We don't have any information on the history of the Couche name. Have information to share?

Name Origin

Couche occurs in both France and Belgium. It also occurs in England, the USA and Canada, as well as in the Netherlands (Zeeland and Limburg).

French expert Jean Tosti does not recognize Couche, in that to date (June 2014) it is not included in his extensive list of French surnames for which he gives meanings. Yet, some French websites on surnames do indicate that there are indeed people in France carrying this name.

Couche is considered by some to be a variant of Cauche. 

Belgian expert Frans Debrabandere considers Couche to be a surname distinct from Cauche. He associates Couche with the French names Coché and Cochet, both of which he relates to “coq”, meaning rooster.

Cauche is taken as originally (during the Middle Ages or the Renaissance) designating persons whose occupation was that of making or trading in hose or stockings or breeches, maybe even shoes, albeit the Medieval types of soft shoes. It is of Norman-Picardian origin.

A number of British commentators take the French “couche” to mean couch or bed, given that one of the connotations of “couche” is to lie down. Hence they associate Couche with the occupation of a maker or supplier of beds and bedding.

Spellings & Pronunciations

The Belgian expert Frans Debrabandere considers Couche to be a surname distinct from Cauche. He associates Couche with the French names Coché and Cochet, both of which he relates to “coq”, meaning rooster. Some of the other variants he associates with Couche are Coussee, Cossé and Cocher.

Some English commentators believe the surname Couche to be a variant of Cauche while others believe it to be distinct. A number of these commentators take the French “couche” to mean couch or bed, given that two of the connotations of “couche” or "couché" are those of the adverbs of being in bed and lying down. (Other connotations of "couche" as noun are those of a layer or a stratum.)  Couch, Cowche, Coutch, Coutche and Coutcher are amongst English variants of Couche.

Nationality & Ethnicity

Couche as surname could have originated more probably in France but possibly in Belgium.

Not many people in France carry this name. This is indicated by births in France of people with this surname, as is given by some French genealogical websites, particularly with respect to periods in the 1900's. Such births have been mainly concentrated in particular areas in the North-West, in the Central-North-East and the Mid-West of France. Couche as family name occurs in both France and Belgium and could have originated most probably in France but possibly in Belgium. The name itself and variants of the name occur in a number of other countries, such as England, The United States of America and Canada.

Famous People named Couche

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Early Couches

These are the earliest records we have of the Couche family.