Researching Bill Cosby
Research the background of Bill Cosby using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 274 people with the Cosby surname? In that year Cosby was ranked number 3305 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Bill means "Form of WILLIAM - resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of Bill Cosby on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Bill Cosby in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Bill Cosby. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Bill Cosby. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Bill Cosby. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Bill Cosby. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Bill Cosby. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Cosby ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Cosby Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Bill Cosby and the Cosby Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Cosby Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Cosby family tree.
Check out Parish Records for Bill Cosby at Find My Past.
Explore for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Bill Cosby using the FreeBMD database.
Investigate Genealogy Bank for Bill Cosby records.
Study MyHeritage for Bill Cosby information.
Investigate the LDS Database for records about Bill Cosby.
Research the Cosby surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Cosby Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 433 people with the Cosby surname in the UK? Cosby is now ranked number 3633 for popularity in the UK. |
Cosby Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Bill Cosby.
Study MyTrees for information on the Cosby family and people looking to contact living Cosby relations.
Search One Great Family for Cosby records submitted by people who are already researching the Cosby Family Tree.
Find Bill Cosby from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Cosby Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Cosby surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 12153 people with the Cosby surname in the USA? Cosby is ranked number 153 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Cosby Databases
Study the Ellis Island Database for information on Bill Cosby. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( born July 12, 1937) is an American retired stand-up comedian, actor, and author. Cosby began his career as a stand-up comic at the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco during the 1960s. Throughout the decade he released several standup comedy records which consecutively earned him the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album from 1965 to 1970. He also had a starring role in the television crime show I Spy (1965–1968) opposite Robert Culp. Cosby made history when he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1966, making him the first African American to earn an Emmy Award for acting. His acting career continued as he starred in the sitcom The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons from 1969 to 1971.
In 1972, using the Fat Albert character developed during his stand-up routines, Cosby created, produced, and hosted the animated comedy television series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids which ran until 1985, centering on a group of young friends growing up in an urban area. Throughout the 1970s, Cosby starred in various films including Sidney Poitier's Uptown Saturday Night (1974), and Let's Do It Again (1975), and Neil Simon's California Suite (1978) alongside Richard Pryor. He also starred in the original cast of The Electric Company alongside Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman from 1971 to 1973. In 1976, he earned his Doctor of Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, returning to the school after completing his Masters of Arts there in 1972. His dissertation discussed the use of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids as a teaching tool in elementary schools.
Beginning in the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in the television sitcom The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and was rated as the number one show in America from 1985 through 1989. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. During this time, Cosby gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable. Cosby produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which aired from 1987 to 1993. He also starred in The Cosby Mysteries (1994-1995), the sitcom Cosby (1996–2000) and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things (1998–2000). He then created and produced the animated children's program Little Bill (2000–2004).
In 2014, Cosby became the subject of numerous sexual assault allegations which became highly publicized during the Me Too movement. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand. He was imprisoned until the conviction was vacated in 2021 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for violations of Cosby's 5th Amendment and 14th Amendment due process rights. In November 2021, the prosecution petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to reverse this decision.
Source: Bill Cosby, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Cosby
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Cacioppo Casby Caseby Causbey Causbie Causby Cawsby Cecava Cosbee Cosbey Cowsby Cozby





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