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Goff History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Goff History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Wales

Early Origins of the Goff family

The surname Goff was first found in Brittany, originally Armorica in ancient times, where the family has been a prominent family for centuries, and held a family seat with lands and manor. The family were well established in the region of Dol and several members of the family distinguished themselves through their contributions toward the community in which they lived and were rewarded with lands, titles and letters patent confirming their nobility.

Early History of the Goff family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Goff research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1479, 1753 and 1867 are included under the topic Early Goff History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Goff Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Goff, Goffart, Goffin, Goffinet, Geff, Geffen, Gaff, Gäfert, Guff and many more.

Early Notables of the Goff family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

the Goff family of Brittany

Goff Ranking

In the United States, the name Goff is the 946^th most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. 1

Goff migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Goff Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anne Goff, who settled in Virginia in 1736

Goff Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Goff, who arrived in America in 1811 2
John Goff, aged 43, who arrived in Maine in 1812 2
William Commins Goff, aged 29, who arrived in Ohio in 1812 2
Charles W Goff, who arrived in New York in 1815 2
John Goff, who settled in Savannah in 1822
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Goff migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Goff Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

D. Goff, aged 20, a surgeon, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Augusta" from Liverpool, England

Goff migration to Australia +

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

Goff Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Peter Goff, English convict who was convicted in Portsmouth, England for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
Mr. James Goff, British Convict who was convicted in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales for life, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
James Goff, English convict from Surrey, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on April 1st, 1822, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Charles Goff, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. James Goff, (b. 1822), aged 18, Irish shoe maker who was convicted in Ireland, Dublin City for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Egyptian" on 19th August 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1865 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Goff migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Goff Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Owen Goff, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1865
John Goff, aged 27, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875

Goff 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. 8

Goff Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. William Goff, aged 30 who arrived in St. Kitts (St Christopher) aboard the ship "Amity" in 1635 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Goff (post 1700) +

Robert Lamar Goff (b. 1965), American NFL football player who played from 1988 to 1996
Bruce Alonzo Goff (1904-1982), American architect
Nathan Goff Jr. (1843-1920), American politician, member of Congress from West Virginia
Stan Goff (b. 1951), American writer and activist
Robert Lionel Archibald Goff KT, PC, FBA (1926-2016), Baron Goff of Chieveley, British jurist, Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1996-1998), Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1986-1998)
Sir Park Goff KC (1871-1939), 1st Baronet, English barrister and politician, Member of Parliament for Cleveland (1918-1923) and (1924-1929) and for Chatham (1931-1935), Registrar of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor (1908-1911)
Philip Bruce Goff (b. 1953), New Zealand politician, 32nd Leader of the Opposition (2008-2011), 35th Minister of Defence (2005-2008)
John Goff Ballentine (1825-1915), American politician, Member of the United States House of Representatives (1883-1887)
Thomas Goff Lupton (1791-1873), English mezzotint engraver
Louise Goff Reece (1898-1970), American Republican politician, U.S. Representative from Tennessee 1st District, 1961-63; Member of Republican National Committee from Tennessee, 1967 9

Historic Events for the Goff family +

Empress of Ireland

Miss Agnes Goff (1887-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 10

HMS Hood

Mr. Jack Goff (b. 1923), English Boy 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 11

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. George Henry Goff, British Petty Officer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 12

Monongah Mine

Mr. Ignat Goff (b. 1879), "Ingot", Polish coal miner who was in mine 6 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 13
Mr. John Goff (b. 1884), Slavic coal miner who was in mine 8 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 13
Mr. Paul Goff (b. 1881), Slavic coal miner who was in mine 8 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 13

USS Arizona

Mr. Wiley Coy Goff, American Seaman Second Class from Oklahoma, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 14

Citations +

"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th January 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/egyptian
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Monongah Mining Disaster retrieved on 8th August 2021. (Retrieved fromhttps://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/monongah.htm).
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html