Coventry (English)
Where does "Coventry" come from?
The English place name Coventry developed from Middle English 'Coventre', which was inherited from the Old English form 'Cofentrēo' or 'Cofantrēo'[1]. Although its ultimate origin remains somewhat obscure, the Old English compound is commonly believed to mean 'Cofa's tree', combining the personal name 'Cofa' with the noun for 'tree'[1].
Open questions
- The ultimate origin of the name remains obscure, although it is traditionally believed to derive from an Anglo-Saxon personal name Cofa. [1]
Full etymology tree
- Coventry (English), 'A cathedral city and metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, in central England, historically in Warwickshire.'
- inherited Coventre (Middle English)
- inherited Cofentreo (Old English), 'alternative form of Cofantrēo'
- compound Cofa (Old English), 'a male given name'
- compound treo (Old English), 'alternative form of trēow'
- inherited Cofentreo (Old English), 'alternative form of Cofantrēo'
- inherited Coventre (Middle English)
Ancestors
- Cofentreo (Old English)
Descendants and derived words
- coventrate (English)
- Coventrian (English)
- coventrize (English)
- East Coventry (English)
- North Coventry (English)
- send to Coventry (English)
- sent to Coventry (English)
- South Coventry (English)
Sources
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris