Carff - Name

This unusual surname spelling is a variant either of the Olde English locational name 'Corf' meaning one resident at or by a valley or Cuttuig, or an inhabitant of a place called Corfe as in Corfe castle, Dorset or Corve, Shropshire, or it derives from the Flemish, German 'Korff' meaning a basket maker. In the later case the surname does not appears to be recorded in England before 1799. When John Korff was recorded at Bethnal Green in London, whereas the several variant spellings of 'Corfe' include William Corffe of London in 1651 and John Curfe of Stepney in 1637, and the first nameholder below. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Isabel Carfe, which was dated 1717, married William Young at South Shields, Durham, during the reign of King George I, Hanover George, 1715 - 1727. 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.