Surname Spotlight: Coffin

Coffin began as an English family name. The usual explanation, from Elsdon Smith, is “the bald man; one who sold baskets”.

• 8,312 Americans were listed as Coffin in the 2010 census. That puts it among the top 5,000 US surnames. Between 1891 and 2000, 1,773 babies born in France were registered as Coffin, with the most births in 1951–1960.
• It probably started as a nickname that stuck.

Heraldry and the Coffin name

If a Coffin family bore arms, our report explains whose they were and what the blazon shows. Research your Coffin family history with a full surname report and painted coat of arms.