Show ContentsColefax History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Colefax Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Colefax

What does the name Colefax mean?

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Colefax family have grown. The name Colefax was given to a member of the family who was a sly fox, and would have been given to a crafty fellow.

Early Origins of the Colefax family

The surname Colefax was first found in Warwickshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Colefax family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Colefax research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1221, 1274, 1511, 1550, 1869 and 1873 are included under the topic Early Colefax History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colefax Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Colefax family name include Colfox, Coolefox, Colvox, Colefax, Colfax, Cofax, Golfax and many more.

Early Notables of the Colefax family

More information is included under the topic Early Colefax Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Colefax migration to the United States+

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Colefax surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Colefax Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • S. Colefax who arrived in New York in 1822

Contemporary Notables of the name Colefax (post 1700)+

  • Peter Colefax, American banker and company director
  • Lady Sibyl Colefax (1874-1950), English society hostess, and co-founder of the firm of Colefax & Fowler
Centaur
  • Basil Douglas Colefax (1916-1943), Australian Private who died aboard the ship "Centaur" an Australian hospital ship when torpedoed on 14th May 1943

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