Raff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Raff surname is a patronymic from a medieval form of the personal name Ralph.

Early Origins of the Raff family

The surname Raff was first found in Cornwall where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Kennet and Trevil in St.Juliet. "The manor called Tresparvet [in the parish of St. Ives] belongs to William Rawle, Esq. in whose family it has been vested for many generations. The manor of Tremorvill or Tremorill, which belonged to the Bottreaux family so early as the reign of Edward I. is the property of Mr. Rawle." 1

Early History of the Raff family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Raff research. Another 168 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1632, 1658, 1660, 1683, 1686 and 1727 are included under the topic Early Raff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Raff Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Rawle, Rawles, Rorles, Ralls, Rall and others.

Early Notables of the Raff family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Francis Rawle (1660-1727), Cornish colonist, born in England, son of Francis Rawle, and came of an old Cornish family of some wealth and standing, settled at one time near St. Juliot, and later in the neighbourhood of Plymouth. "Both father and son were Quakers, and were persecuted...
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Raff Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Raff Ranking

In the United States, the name Raff is the 16,037^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Raff migration to the United States +

The records on immigrants and ships' passengers show a number of people bearing the name Raff:

Raff Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christoph Raff, aged 21, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1796 3

Raff Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juan Santiago Raff, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1816 3

Raff Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Abraham Raff, who landed in Mississippi in 1902 3

Raff migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Raff Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Robert Raff, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Caspar" in 1849 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Raff (post 1700) +

Edson Duncan Raff (1907-2003), officer in the US Army and author of a book on paratroopers
Elias Raff, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Nassau County 2nd District, 1919 5
A. Raymond Raff (b. 1865), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1924; Superintendent of U.S. Mint, Philadelphia, 1934-35; U.S. Collector of Customs, 1935-47 5
Gerhard Raff (b. 1946), German historian
George Raff (1818-1889), Scottish merchant, sugar grower and politician
Joachim Raff (1822-1882), Swiss composer

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. 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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The CASPAR 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Caspar.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html