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Origins Available: |
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The origins of the Coffind surname lie with the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name Coffind began when someone in that family worked as a person who made baskets. The surname Coffind is derived from the Old French words cofin and coffin, which in turn come from the Late Latin word cophinus, which means basket. Occupational names such as this one frequently were derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames. The English word coffin is a specialized development of this word which did not exist before the 16th century. The surname Coffind may also be a nickname derived from the Latin word calvus, which means bald.
The surname Coffind was first found in Devon at Alwington, a parish, in the union of Bideford, hundred of Shebbear, Great Torrington. "In the church [of Alwington], over the door of the chancel, is a curious ancient monument to a member of the Coffin family." 1
"Abbotsham, [Devon] was anciently part of the estates of the Abbey of Tavistock, whence its name; but early in the seventeenth century belonged to the Coffin family, who have been seated at Portledge, in the adjoining parish of Alwington, almost from the time of the Conquest, and who continued there in the male line until the death of Richard Coffin in 1766. The family has produced many men of note, Sir William Coffin, Master of the Horse at the coronation of Anne Boleyn, and a prominent participator in the Field of the Cloth of Gold, being of the number. The Coffins spread also into the adjoining parish of Parkham." 2
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 has a range of spellings for the family: Richard Chaufin, Nottinghamshire; Robert Coffyn, Lincolnshire; and William Coffyn, Devon. 3
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coffind research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1571, 1585, 1588, 1592, 1593, 1594, 1597, 1598 and 1626 are included under the topic Early Coffind History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Coffind has appeared include Coffin, Coffyn, Colvin, Caffin, Caffyn, Chafen, Chaffine and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Edward Coffin alias Hatton (1571-1626), English Jesuit, born at Exeter in 1571, and arrived at the English college at Rheims on 19 July 1585. On 26 July 1588 he entered...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coffind Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Coffind arrived in North America very early: Francis Coffin who settled in Virginia in 1635.