This is my understanding of the origin of the name. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
The name COWARD is derived from "cow herder". There are two concentrations of the name in England. One is around the Somerset, Wiltshire area in the south-west of the country. The other is around Yorkshire in the north. It is possible that each concentration independently grew from one couple who adopted the name when surnames became compulsory in England about 800 years ago. If this is so, then all COWARDs from the north are related and all COWARDs from the south are related. There are also COWARDs in Norway but they are descended from a person who emigrated from England several hundred years ago. There are now COWARDs in practically every country that was colonised by the English including Australia, Canada, South Africa and USA. I have been told that there were COWARDs on the Mayflower. There are possibly COWARDs who can not claim English ancestry but they would be a minority.
See my web site at :-
www.alphalink.com.au/~coward/