The Quaife family in Our Kentish Genealogy
There are approximately 454 people named Quaife in the UK. Approximately 7 out of every million people in the UK are named Quaife.
"This most interesting and unusual name is of Old French origin, introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066. Indeed, some members of the Quaif(e) or Coyfe family claim descent from a Coyfe who came over with the Conqueror, and wore a hood instead of a helmet at Hastings. The name derives from the Old French term "coif", close-fitting cap, coif, and may have been either a nickname or a metonymic occupational surname. As a nickname, the term would have been used for someone who habitually wore a hood or coif, and as an occupational name, for a maker of such caps or hoods. Early examples of the surname include: Bidan le Coyfier (1228, Essex); William Coyfe or Coif (1260, Cambridgeshire); and Geoffrey Quayfere (1301, Yorkshire). The modern surname can be found as Quaif, Quaife, Quoif, Coyf and Coyfe, and is still found most frequently in the Channel counties of Kent and Sussex..... The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Coif, which was dated 1180, in the "Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189" - The Internet Surname Database
Origins
My Quaife family abruptly appeared in the Bredgar area in 1750. That was the year my ancestor John Quaife married Ann Crowhurst. IGI searches led to Hawkhurst, 23 miles to the south and a perusal of the local history explained why John might have wanted to leave his area.