Coffey
An Irish surname, usually anglicized from Gaelic names based on Cobhthach, meaning “victorious,” though some forms may overlap with other Irish surnames.
The #955 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,477 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Coffey is generally treated as an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Cobhthach or related forms written by English speakers as O'Coffey. The Gaelic personal name is traditionally connected with a word meaning “victorious” or “triumphant,” so the surname likely began as a descendant-of or family-name from that personal name. Older writers also suggested other explanations, but Irish origin is the standard and best-supported account.
History
The name is found in Irish records in several anglicized spellings, including Coffee, Coffey, and Caugliey/Caughley-like forms in older English sources. Victorian surname writers sometimes debated whether it could be linked to other roots, but later Irish scholarship emphasizes that multiple distinct Irish surnames could collapse into the same English spelling. The name is now common in Ireland and among Irish diaspora communities, especially in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname books occasionally tried to connect Coffey with very different roots, but modern surname study treats it mainly as one of several English spellings of Irish Gaelic family names.
From the historical record
“MAC GRORY for Mao Rory, q.v. MAC GUFFIE for Mac Coffey, SoNOFCoffey, q.v. MAC GUFFIN (Celt.) ? Son of GeibhionN = the Captive [Ir. ^ejMtowB, captivity, bondT”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)