Cawse Family History

from the Pays de Caux (Normandy). Some of the bearers below may belong under (2) or (3). The name is synonymous with Cawsey (1) and the two names were interchangeable even in the early modern period.

possibly from Cause (Shrops) which is recorded as Caus in 1134 Cawes in 1255 and Caurse about 1540 and may take its name from the surname in (1). However it is possible that this place did not give rise to a surname and that the early bearer example belongs under (1).

perhaps from Old French cauce a Norman and Picard variant of Old French chaucee ‘stocking’ used to denote someone whose hosiery was particularly noteworthy for some reason or perhaps for a maker or seller of such items.

Compare Causer.