Where does 'chaffin' come from?

Question

it's my last name...

what's the origin?

Answer 1

This interesting name is a Norman French introduction, after the 1066 Invasion and is a descriptive, patronymic nickname. The original development is from "Calrus" - a latin word menaing, "Bald", through the French, "Chauf" plus "in" - a variaint of "kin" meaning - son, i.e. 'The son of the Bald One'. The name development included Richard Caffyn 1327, The Pipe Rolls of Sussex, and later Thomas Chafyn, The Register of Oxford University in 1505. the modern spellngs are Chaffin, Chaffen, Chavrin, Caffin and Caffyn, although all are relatively rare. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Chaufin. which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Nottingham". during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became

http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...

Answer 2

http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...

Surname: Chaffin

This interesting name is a Norman French introduction, after the 1066 Invasion and is a descriptive, patronymic nickname. The original development is from "Calrus" - a latin word meaning, "Bald", through the French, "Chauf" plus "in" - a variaint of "kin" meaning - son, i.e. 'The son of the Bald One'. The name development included Richard Caffyn 1327, The Pipe Rolls of Sussex, and later Thomas Chafyn, The Register of Oxford University in 1505. the modern spellngs are Chaffin, Chaffen, Chavrin, Caffin and Caffyn, although all are relatively rare. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Chaufin. which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Nottingham". during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

www.familysearch.org has these varied spellings: CHAFIN ;

CHAPIN; CHAFFEN ; CHAFFAN ; CHAPHEN; CHAFEN; CHAFING; CHAFYN; CHAFF ; CHAFFING;  CHIFFINCE ;

CHAFINE ; CHAPHIN; CHAFFON; CHAFON; CHEFFINS; CHEFFINGS; CHAPHYN; CHAPHAN; & CHAFFINN .

     It is found in the US (varied states), England, Germany,

Korea, Barbados, Jamaica, Panama,  France, Belgium, Denmark, Mexico, and Australia.

    An early listing I found was this one:

Ann CHAFFIN -  Birth: About 1537, England

     There were also some unusual first names with the early listings from England:  Amphillis , Arundel, Bampfield ,  Xtian (supposed to be Christian, I think, but the way it was spelled caught my eye),  Dillmus,  Egbert (shame on his parents!!), Essex (unusual, but nice in a way),  Florodora ,  Hugonus (shame, shame on his parents!!), and--though it is not nice to make fun of someone's name, I could not help but laugh at what this lady's name brought to mind: f***y CHAFING (one definition of chafing is "to become sore from rubbing", so it brought to mind someone with a sore behind. )

Answer 3

This is from ancestry.com

English (of Norman origin): descriptive nickname for a bald man, from Middle English chaffin, a diminutive of Old French chauf ‘bald’ (Latin calvus).