Calfe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Calfe is tied to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England. It comes from Calf, a variant of the Old Norse personal name Kalfr, which means calf. However, several alternative interpretations exist. The name may be of nickname origin, derived from the Old English cealf which means calf, indicating one thought to possess the characteristics of a calf. 1

Early Origins of the Calfe family

The surname Calfe was first found in various counties throughout old Britain as by the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, the following listings were found: Reginald Cauf, Yorkshire; John le Cauf, Lincolnshire; and Nicholas Calf, Gloucestershire. 2

Early History of the Calfe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Calfe research. Another 240 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1163, 1176, 1273, 1500, 1560, 1580, 1597, 1605, 1657 and 1738 are included under the topic Early Calfe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calfe Spelling Variations

Only 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 Calfe has undergone many spelling variations, including Calf, Calfe, Cauf, Caufe, Calffe and others.

Early Notables of the Calfe family

Notables of the family at this time include Abraham Colfe or Calf (1580-1657), English divine, son of the Rev. Richard Colfe, D.D., prebendary of Canterbury, by his first wife, whose maiden name was Thorneton, was born at Canterbury, 7 Aug. 1580, of a family that had settled...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Calfe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Calfe family to Ireland

Some of the Calfe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calfe 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 Calfe were among those contributors:

Calfe Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Calfe who arrived in Virginia in 1637
William Calfe, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 3
Joseph Calfe, who landed in Virginia in 1649 3

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)