Show ContentsStiff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Stiff family

The surname Stiff was first found in Gloucester where they held a family seat, and the name was originally Styffe, and was sometimes used as an abbreviation of Stephen.

Early History of the Stiff family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stiff research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1700 and 1892 are included under the topic Early Stiff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stiff Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Stiffe, Stiff, Styff, Styffe, Stife and others.

Early Notables of the Stiff family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Jacob Stiff of Gloucestershire

Stiff Ranking

In the United States, the name Stiff is the 11,622nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Stiff migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Stiff Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Stiff, who arrived in America in 1760-1763 2
  • John Stiff, who settled in New England in 1762
Stiff Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John and Thomas Stiff, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1808
Stiff Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mary E. Stiff, aged 39, who settled in America from London, in 1903
  • William Stiff, aged 48, who settled in Bridgeport, Conn, in 1910
  • Hugh Vernon Stiff, aged 0, who landed in America from London, England, in 1916
  • Wm. Stiff, aged 34, who settled in America, in 1919
  • Walter Stiff, aged 28, who landed in America from Reading, in 1919
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Stiff migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Stiff Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
  • Charles Stiff, aged 69, who immigrated to Hamilton, Canada, in 1910
  • Evelyn Ellen Stiff, aged 25, who settled in Toronto, Canada, in 1916

Australia Stiff migration to Australia +

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

Stiff Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary Stiff, (b. 1806), aged 40, English convict who was convicted in Wells, Somerset, England for 10 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 22nd January 1846, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3

West Indies Stiff 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
Stiff Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Henry and Sarah Stiff, who settled in Barbados in 1660

Contemporary Notables of the name Stiff (post 1700) +

  • David Stiff, American actor and production designer, known for Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (2005), The Band and Witches, Faggots, Dykes and Poofters (1980)
  • Jason Stiff, American Daytime Emmy Award and six-time Golden Reel Award winning editor, known for his work on SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011)
  • Morgan R. Stiff (b. 1980), American editor and producer, known for his work on Mississippi Damned (2009), One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story (2008) and Burn (2012)
  • Robert Martin Stiff, American newspaper editor based in Detroit
  • John Sterling Stiff, American city manager, McKinney, Texas
  • Lee Vernon Stiff (b. 1949), American mathematics education researcher
  • Alfred M. Stiff (d. 1999), American politician, Mayor of Bozeman, Montana, 1982-83, 1988-89, 1998-99 5
  • James Stiff (1808-1897), English potter, he started his career in 1830 at Doulton and Watts' Lambeth Pottery in London to owning his own pottery works in Lambeth in 1843
  • George Stiff (1807-1873), English engraver and newspaper proprietor
  • David Stiff (b. 1984), English cricketer
  • ... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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