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Taffe History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Taffe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

While this surname is generally regarded as Irish, we must look further back to properly understand its origin. Taffe is actually derived from the Welsh name Taaffe, which is a form of the personal name David and is related to the modern pet name Taffy. The Irish Gaelic form of the surname Taffe is Táth, which is pronounced, and indeed, often spelled, Taa.

Early Origins of the Taffe family

The surname Taffe was first found in County Louth (Irish: Lú) the smallest county in Ireland, located on the East coast, in the Province of Leinster where the family rapidly rose to positions of great importance shortly after their settlement during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. "Lord Taafe's ancestors were a Welsh family, who settled in Ireland at the English invasion." 1

Sir Nicholas Taafe's grandson, Richard Taafe seated at Castle Lumpnagh was Sheriff of Dublin in 1295, and later Sheriff of County Louth in 1315. His son was Archbishop of Armagh. This line of early nobility continued well into the 14th and 15th centuries with more Sheriffs of Louth on record. 2

Early History of the Taffe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Taffe research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1284, 1441, 1603, 1639, 1641, 1642, 1649, 1661, 1677, 1685, 1688, 1695, 1696, 1704 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Taffe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Taffe Spelling Variations

Church officials and medieval scribes spelled names as they sounded; therefore, single person, could have his name spelt many different ways during their lifetime. While investigating the origins of the name Taffe, many spelling variations were encountered, including: Taafe, Taaf, Taffe, Taffee, Taffie, Taffey and others.

Early Notables of the Taffe family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was John Taaffe, 1st Viscount Taaffe (died before 1641); Theobald Taaffe, 1st Earl of Carlingford (c. 1603-1677), 2nd Viscount Taaffe, of Corren and 2nd Baron of Ballymote between 1642 and 1661, Irish Royalist officer who played a prominent part in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and accompanied Charles II in exile. Upon the Restoration, he was created 1st Earl of Carlingford; and Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of Carlingford (1639-1704), Irish army commander and politician. John Taaffe (fl. 1685-1708), was an Irish informer and Irish priest whose real name is said to have...
Another 128 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Taffe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Taffe migration to the United States +

Ireland went through one of the most devastating periods in its history with the arrival of the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. Many also lost their lives from typhus, fever and dysentery. And poverty was the general rule as tenant farmers were often evicted because they could not pay the high rents. Emigration to North America gave hundreds of families a chance at a life where work, freedom, and land ownership were all possible. For those who made the long journey, it meant hope and survival. The Irish emigration to British North America and the United States opened up the gates of industry, commerce, education and the arts. Early immigration and passenger lists have shown many Irish people bearing the name Taffe:

Taffe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Joane Taffe, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 3
Robert Taffe, who arrived in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1667 3

Taffe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W Taffe, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
K aroline Taffe, who arrived in Brazil in 1859 3
Ludwig Taffe, who landed in America in 1867 3
Karl Ludwig Taffe, who landed in North America in 1867 3
Mary Taffe, aged 15, originally from Ireland, who arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "Peruvian" from Londonderry, Ireland 4

Taffe Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Edward Taffe, aged 53, originally from Liverpool, England, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Adriatic" from Liverpool, England 4
Patrick Taffe, aged 36, originally from Co. Sligo, Ireland, who arrived in New York City, New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Baltic" from Queenstown, Ireland 4

Taffe migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Taffe Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Ann Taffe, (b. 1846), aged 19, British milliner travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Indian Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd July 1865 5
Miss Bridget Taffe, (b. 1848), aged 17, British milliner travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Indian Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd July 1865 5

Taffe 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. 6

Taffe Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mary Taffe, who settled in Barbados in 1677

Contemporary Notables of the name Taffe (post 1700) +

John Taffe (1827-1884), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska (1867-1876)
Jeffrey Charles Taffe (b. 1981), American NHL ice hockey center
John E. Taffe, American politician, Representative from Massachusetts 6th District, 1936 7
John Taffe, American politician, Secretary of Colorado Territory, 1875-76 7
John Taffe (1827-1884), American Republican politician, Newspaper editor; Member of Nebraska territorial House of Representatives, 1858-59 7
Ayodele Taffe (b. 1994), Trinidadian sprinter

The Taffe Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: In hoc signo spes mea
Motto Translation: In this sign is my hope.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html