Caffry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

There are multitude of rich histories underlying the many Irish surnames in use today. The name Caffry originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Gafraidh. Gafraidh or Gothraidh equates with the English personal name Godfrey. Variations that start with the prefix Mac or Mc mean son of Godfrey.

Early Origins of the Caffry family

The surname Caffry was first found in County Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat at Ballymacaffrey near Five mile Town in Fermanagh near the Tyrone border. 1

Early History of the Caffry family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Caffry research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1987 is included under the topic Early Caffry History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Caffry Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages, a name was often recorded under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer. Literacy was rare at that time and none of the languages to be found in the British Isles had achieved any great semblance of standardization. Variations of the name Caffry found include MacCaffery, MacCaffrey, MacCafferty, MacAffery, MacAffry, MacAfferty, MacGoffrey, MacGodfrey and many more.

Early Notables of the Caffry family

More information is included under the topic Early Caffry Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Caffry migration to the United States +

Ireland experienced a dramatic decrease in its population during the late 19th century. This was in a great measure, a response to England's imperialistic policies. Hunger and disease took the lives of many Irish people and many more chose to leave their homeland to escape such hunger and disease. North America with its promise of work, freedom, and land was an extremely popular destination for Irish families. For those families that survived the journey, all three of these things were were often attained through much hard work and perseverance. Research into early immigration and passenger lists revealed many immigrants bearing the name Caffry:

Caffry Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Rose Caffry, aged 18, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 2
Thomas Caffry, aged 20, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 2
Ben Caffry, who landed in New York, NY in 1804 2
Nicholas Caffry, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 2

Citations +

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)