Goff Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Goff Family History

Goff Family History

The Goff ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Goff include Gough, McGeough, McGeogh and McGoff. Meaning 'red haired person', this was the nickname for a person with that type of hair, and originated in Wales. This name is of Celtic origin and is popular throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the above islands. Examples of such are a Robert Gogh, who was recorded in the ancient book 'Kirby's Quest', in the reign of Edward III. The surname is common in East Anglia, where it was originally of Breton origin, introduced by followers of William the Conqueror. In Ireland two septs have been anglicized Gough and Goff they being O'Cuachain of the Hy Fiachrach located in County Mayo, the other is MagEothach which is a branch of the McKeoghs. The variants McGeogh and McGoff are also taken from the McKeogh sept, and are principally found in Counties Armagh, Monaghan and Louth.The Goff family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Goff descendants.