William Francis Ganong identified the Mi'kmaq name as Wijulmacadie, referring to a plant found along the river.
In 1866 Cocagne was a farming community with about 65 families: in 1871 the community and surrounding district had a population of 900: in 1898 Cocagne was a sub-port of entry with a population of 250. A post office branch has been located here since 1837.[7]
On 1 January 2023, the rural community of Cocagne amalgamated with all or part of six LSDs to form the new rural community of Beausoleil.[8][9] The community's name remains in official use, as do those of other communities within the former rural community.[10]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cocagne had a population of 2,757 living in 1,214 of its 1,430 total private dwellings, a change of 4.1% from its 2016 population of 2,649. With a land area of 69.23 km2 (26.73 sq mi), it had a population density of 39.8/km2 (103.1/sq mi) in 2021.[1]