Coffin
An English surname with a likely nickname origin, probably from a term meaning “the bald one,” later also linked in some sources to a Devon family name.
The #4,274 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,145 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually treated as a nickname surname. Early writers connect it with Old French forms related to le chauve, meaning “the bald one,” and with Latin calvus, also “bald.” A few older sources also suggest that in some cases it may have become fixed as a local or family name in Devon, rather than being purely descriptive.
History
The surname is well attested in medieval English records and later became established in Devon, where one notable family held land in Alwington and later lived at Portledge. Older surname dictionaries also note spellings such as Cauffin and Caffin, and they often group Coffin with other baldness-based nickname surnames. Because the evidence comes from early antiquarian scholarship, some details remain uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Despite its modern association with a burial container, the surname is not generally derived from that word; older scholarship instead treats it as a nickname surname.
From the historical record
“means " the bold or active one." COFFIN. Tills f\imlly possessed Al- wington manor, co. De^'on, temp. William Conq.. and they still reside at Portledge in that manor. B.L.G. Colvin or Colvinus COL 65”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Coffin
- Lucretia Mott (1793–1880)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.