When Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed during the day-long Battle of Trafalgar in late 1805, Nelson’s second-in-command, Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, assumed control of the British fleet. About an hour later, the Royal Navy won the battle.
Over the next few years, dozens of baby boys in England (and elsewhere) were named in honor of Collingwood. Most were given his surname as either a first or middle name, but others received his full name:
- Cuthbert Collingwood Hope, b. 1805 in England
- Cuthbert Collingwood Beazley, b. 1806 in England
- Cuthbert Collingwood Quimby, b. 1806 in the U.S. (Massachusetts)
- Cuthbert Collingwood Medcalf, b. 1807 in England
- Cuthbert Collingwood Gordon, b. 1808 in the U.S. (New Hampshire)
- Cuthbert Collingwood Hall, b. 1809 in England
- Cuthbert Collingwood Oxley, b. 1810 in Canada
Several of his namesakes were also named after Nelson:
- Nelson Collingwood Marselis, b. 1806 in the U.S. (New York)
- Collingwood Nelson Simmonds, b. circa 1806 in England
- Nelson Collingwood Robins, b. 1809 in England
The rare name Cuthbert (which last appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1955) derives from the Old English words cuþ, meaning “known,” and beorht, meaning “bright.”
Sources: Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood – Wikipedia, Battle of Trafalgar Timeline – National Maritime Museum, FamilySearch.org, Wiktionary
Image: Adapted from Cuthbert Collingwood, Baron Collingwood by Henry Howard
