Cawthorne or Cawthorn is a toponymic surname related to the village of Cawthorne in South Yorkshire, England, or alternatively the village of Cawthorn in North Yorkshire, England. It also means a region of Yorkshire where there are many thorned plants and the climate is cold. The linguistic origin of the surname is the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) cald-thorne meaning "cold (or exposed) thorn-tree".
Other documented variants of this surname include Cawthon, Corthorn and Cawthron.
People named Cawthorne or Cawthorn include:
Charles Cawthorne (1854–1925), music promoter, a founder of Cawthorne and Co. Harry Cawthorne (born 1900), English footballer James Cawthorn (1719–1761), minor English poet and schoolmaster James Cawthorn (1929–2008), British writer, scenarist and illustrator Joe T. Cawthorn (1911–1987), American politician Joseph Cawthorn (1867–1949), American stage and film actor Madison Cawthorn (born 1995), American politician Minnie Elizabeth Cawthorn (1898–1966), Australian headmistress and aviator Rachel Cawthorn (born 1988), British sprint canoer Rupert Cawthorne, early 20th-century English footballer Sam Cawthorn (born 1979), Australian author and entrepreneur W. A. Cawthorne (1825–1897), schoolmaster in South Australia, father of Charles Walter Cawthorn (1896–1970), Australian major general and diplomat
See also John Fenton-Cawthorne (1753–1851), British Conservative Member of Parliament
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