| ![Show Contents]() Loftis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The lineage of the name Loftis begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the village of Lofthouse during the reign of King Alfred in 900 AD. This place-name was originally derived from the Old Norse words lopt meaning loft and hus meaning house. Therefore the original bearers of the Loftis surname were dwellers of the loft house. 1 Early Origins of the Loftis familyThe surname Loftis was first found in North Yorkshire at Lofthouse, a small village in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district or at Lofthouse, a village in West Yorkshire. "This place, in the Domesday Survey Lochtushum, was granted by the Conqueror to Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, who soon afterwards transferred it to the Percy family, of whom William de Percy, the third Baron, in 1133 founded at Handall, in the parish, a priory for Benedictine nuns, which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary." 2 Early History of the Loftis familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Loftis research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1573, 1605, 1619, 1620, 1639, 1647, 1691, 1695 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Loftis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Loftis Spelling VariationsOnly recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Loftis has undergone many spelling variations, including Loftus, Lofthouse, Loftis, Loftiss, Loftos and others. Early Notables of the Loftis familyAnother 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Loftis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Loftis RankingIn the United States, the name Loftis is the 3,220th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3  Migration of the Loftis family to Ireland
Some of the Loftis family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Loftis migration to the United States | + |
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Loftis were among those contributors:
Loftis Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Willi Loftis, who arrived in Virginia in 1642 4
- William Loftis, who landed in Virginia in 1647 4
- Joane Loftis, who arrived in Virginia in 1663 4
- Rich Loftis, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 4
Loftis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Thomas Loftis, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1867 4
| Loftis 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. 5Loftis Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century- Mr. John Loftis, aged 21, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 4
| Contemporary Notables of the name Loftis (post 1700) | + |
- Robert Geers Loftis, American diplomat, former United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho
- Curtis M. Loftis Jr (b. 1958), American politician, businessman and philanthropist, State Treasurer of South Carolina (2011-)
- Robert Geers Loftis (b. 1956), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Lesotho, 2001 6
- Jim J. Loftis, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Frederick, Oklahoma, 1959-90 6
| Suggested Readings for the name Loftis | + |
- The Ancestors and Descendants of John Joseph Loftis and Laura May Wolf(e) by Sandi Loftis Komosinski.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- "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
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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Loftis migration to the United States 
Loftis migration to West Indies 
England
Ireland
