Huffar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient history of the name Huffar dates back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name given to a person with the characteristics of an owl. Often nicknames described strong traits or attributes that people wished to emulate in a specific animal. In the pre-Christian era, many pagan gods and demigods were believed to be a mixture of animals and humans, such as the Greek god Pan who was the god of flocks and herds and was represented as a man with the legs, horns and ears of a goat. In the Middle Ages, anthropomorphic ideas, which attributed human qualities and form to gods or animals, were held about the characters of other living creatures. They were based on the creature's habits. Moreover, these associations were reflected in folk-tales, mythology, and legends which portrayed animals behaving as humans.

Early Origins of the Huffar family

The surname Huffar was first found in Gloucestershire where the name Povey is a provincialism for an owl. 1

Early History of the Huffar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Huffar research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1621, 1650, 1652, 1660, 1673, 1679, 1690, 1702, 1705, 1706 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Huffar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Huffar Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Huffar include Povey, Povy and others.

Early Notables of the Huffar family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Povey (1613-1705) FRS, London merchant and politician, active in colonial affairs from the 1650s, he was a member from 1660 of Charles II's Council for Foreign Plantations. Charles Povey (c. 1652-1743), was an English miscellaneous writer...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Huffar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Huffar family to Ireland

Some of the Huffar family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Huffar family

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Huffar or a variant listed above: Anne Povey and her husband who settled in Barbados in 1697; James, John and William Povey arrived in Philadelphia between 1174 and 1852.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.