Bill Crant

Excerpt from Dr. Seary's, Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, MUN 1977.

COFFEN, COFFIN, surnames of England - maker of baskets or coffers; or a variant of Caffin, Caffyn, from Old French c(h)auf - bald; or ? from Welsh goch - red, as in GOUGH; or an Old Cornish personal name, Cophin, Coffin or Coffeyn. (Cottle, Spiegelhalter, Weekley Surnames).

Traced by Guppy in Devon.

In Newfoundland:

Family traditions: John Coffin from Southampton, came to White Bay in 1810 and later settled at Joe Batts Arm (MUN Hist.). Elias (1813-83), settled at Channel about 1830 (MUN Geog.).

Early instances: Ann Coffin, of St. John's, ? 1752 (CO 194.13); John, of Bonavista, 1822, of Keels, 1831, of King's Cove, 1834 (DPHW 70, 73A); Robert, of Pinchgut, 1836 (DPHW 30); John, of Joe Batt's Arm, 1842 (DPHW 83); William, of Rencontre East, 1851 (DPHW 104); Ambrose, of Barr'd Islands, 1871 (Lovell); Elias, of Channel, 1871 (Lovell); Robert, planter of Haystack, 1871 (Lovell); Samuel, merchant of Spencers Cove, 1871 (Lovell).

Modern status: Coffen, at St. John's; Coffin, scattered, especially at Joe Batt's Arm.

Place names (not necessarily from the surname): Coffin Cove 47-31 54-05; ----- Island 49-28 54-48, (Labrador) 57-34 61-42; ----- Point 47-37 58-35; Coffins Cove 47-30 54-28, 47-34 54-23.

Early Instances: