Chaffin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Chaffin is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was name for a bald man. The surname Chaffin is a diminutive derived from the Old French words chauf and cauf, which both mean bald. This is ultimately derived from the Latin word calvus, which has the same meaning. The words chauf and cauf are supplemented by the suffixes in or on, which have several variations and are two of the most common diminutive suffixes.

Early Origins of the Chaffin family

The surname Chaffin was first found in Dorset where branches of the family were found in Chettle and Folke. Chettle dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Ceotel and probably was derived from the Old English word ceotel, meaning "deep valley." Folke dates back to 1244 where it was derived from the Old English word folc, which meant people, as in "land held by the people." 1

Early History of the Chaffin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chaffin research. Another 56 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1602, 1627, 1628, 1641, 1666, 1668, 1688 and 1714 are included under the topic Early Chaffin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chaffin Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Chaffin have been found, including Chaffin, Chaffinch, Caffin and others.

Early Notables of the Chaffin family

Distinguished members of the family include

Thomas Chaffin, High Sheriff of Dorset in 1627; and Matthew Caffyn (1628-1714), an English General Baptist preacher and writer from Horsham, Sussex. "He was the seventh son of Thomas Caffin, by Elizab...

Chaffin Ranking

In the United States, the name Chaffin is the 3,286^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2

Chaffin migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Chaffin, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were:

Chaffin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Michael Chaffin, who landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1637 3

Chaffin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Isaac Chaffin, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1822 3
Fortune Chaffin, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1827
Thomas Chaffin, who arrived in Texas in 1835 3
N Chaffin, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
Emma Chaffin, aged 22, who landed in America, in 1895

Chaffin Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

James A Chaffin, aged 7, who settled in America, in 1905
Philip Chaffin, aged 4, who immigrated to the United States, in 1905
Lucien G. Chaffin, who landed in America, in 1907
Martha Chaffin, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
Mrs. F.C. Chaffin, who settled in America, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Chaffin migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Chaffin Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Daniel Chaffin, who arrived in Barbados in 1680 with his wife and servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Chaffin (post 1700) +

Ceán Chaffin (b. 1957), American two-time Academy Award and British Academy Film Award nominated film producer
Jessica Chaffin, American actress and comedienne
Chad Chaffin (b. 1968), American NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies