Offin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

A product of the ancient Brythonic Celts of Wales, the name Offin, is from the Welsh personal name Owen or Owain. The Old Welsh forms of this name were Ouen and Ouein and were borrowed from the Latin name Eugenius. This is in turn derived from the Greek name Eugenios, which means well-born or noble. The name was recorded in Wales as early as 926 AD, when Uwen Wenta Cyning was noted.

Early Origins of the Offin family

The surname Offin was first found in Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn), located in mid-Eastern Wales, one of thirteen historic counties, and anciently the medieval kingdom of Powys Wenwynwyn, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

From these early beginnings, the family reached throughout early England. "George Welsh Owen, Esq. of Tiverton in Devonshire, is impropriator of the great and small tithes, both of the [parish of Egloskerry] and Tremaine, [Cornwall] which belonged formerly to the priory of Launceston. In Egloskerry there are several estates, by which no small tithes are paid. From the tithes of this parish the sum of £5 per annum is paid to the incumbent curate, and sixteen shillings to the Prince of Wales's audit." 1

Early History of the Offin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Offin research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1169, 1600, 1608, 1616, 1622, 1624, 1639, 1640, 1645, 1647, 1659, 1661, 1664, 1666, 1676, 1678, 1679, 1683, 1692, 1698, 1700 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Offin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Offin Spelling Variations

There are relatively few surnames native to Wales, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. Early variations of Welsh surnames can be explained by the fact that very few people in the early Middle Ages were literate. Priests and the few other literate people were responsible for recording names in official documents. And because most people could not specific how to properly record their names it was up to the individual recorder of that time to determine how a spoken name should be recorded. Variations due to the imprecise or improper recording of a name continued later in history when names originally composed in the Brythonic Celtic, language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, were transliterated into English. Welsh names that were documented in English often changed dramatically since the native language of Wales, which was highly inflected, did not copy well. Occasionally, however, spelling variations were carried out according to an individual's specific design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by minor variations. The spelling variations of the name Offin have included Owen, Owens, MacOwen, Owenson, Owenby, Ownby and others.

Early Notables of the Offin family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Thomas Owen (died 1661), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1640, supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War; Sir John Owen (1600-1666), a Welsh Royalist officer during the English Civil War; John Owen (1616-1683), an English Nonconformist church leader, theologian and administrator at the University of Oxford; Arthur Owen (ca.1608-1678), a Welsh politician who sat in...
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Offin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Offin family to Ireland

Some of the Offin family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Offin migration to the United States +

Many Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Offin were found:

Offin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anna Barbara Offin, aged 6, who arrived in New York in 1710 2
Johan Jacob Offin, aged 8, who landed in New York in 1710 2

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
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)