Hi, Bonnie Coy, You might want to keep your eyes open for KUH and variants. Kuh is German for cow, and many German names were translated from German to English. The original German name almost certainly started with a K (or possibly a G) in the German spelling, since C does not occur initially in standard German. (The situation in Swiss German, as I understand it, is similar but sometimes starts a word with CH.) The 'ow' sound of English was usually written 'au' in German, so if COW is a phonetic transcription, the original German spelling might be KAU. Likewise, the phonetic transcription of German KEU would be English COY. As to why the name might have eventally become COY, I think that if I had my druthers, I'd rather be COY than a COW. :) Sincerely, Ed BOOK Brent E. Coy wrote: > I'm reseaching a family that was recorded as "COW" by the English > speaking clerks. They settled in the Cumberland Valley. Some were > Evangelical Lutherans of the Conococheague District; others were German > Baptist Brethern. Any thoughts on what the original German name could > have been and why the name eventually evolved into "COY"? There's no > sense in searching on "COW". It brings up everyone who ever left his > widow a cow, which is practically everyone! > Bonnie Coy (searching for COW and linked families WELBAUM, HOFFMAN > and GRISAMER)