Oval 12mm x 14mm seal engraved with a Cockerell and the Latin motto "Accendit Cantu" he rouses us with song. The Scottish clan Cockburn. Cockburn Clan History: The surname derives from a place name near Duns, in Berwickshire. However, there is also some debate over it having originated from the Scots word for cuckoo, there having been a 'Cuckoo Burn' or 'Gowk's Burn,' close to the Abbey of Melrose in Roxburghshire, with which the Cockburn family had an association. In 1250, John Kocbrun, a Fife landowner, ceded lands to the Monastery of Lindores. A Peter or Peres de Cokeburne rendered homage to Edward I of England in 1296, as did Thomas de Cokeburn of Roxburgshire.