Coffin is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. The House of Coffin is an ancient English family which originated in

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...

. The Coffins have held a number of manors, the most notable of which is

Portledge Portledge Manor is an English manor house in the parish of Alwington, southwest of Bideford, Devon. It and the land surrounding it belonged to the Coffin family, a noble family of Norman origin, for almost 1000 years. History The house sits on ...

in Devon, England, which they held for over nine centuries. The progenitor of most of the American Coffins was Tristram Coffin, a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

, who came to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

from the Coffin family farm at Brixton, Devonshire in 1642. He was one of the original proprietors of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

. Tristram Coffin's descendants include the

Boston Brahmin The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University; Anglicanism; and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English colonis ...

, a group of elite families based in and around

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Many American Coffins are or were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

List of persons with the surname Coffin

* Alexander J. Coffin (1794–1868), New York politician * Alfred Oscar Coffin (1861–1933), African-American professor of mathematics and Romance language, first African American to obtain a PhD in biology *

Alison Coffin Alison Coffin (born 1970) is a Canadian politician, who was formerly the leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party (NL NDP). She is a former member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. In her professional life, ...

(born 1970), Canadian politician * André Coffyn (born 1908), Belgian painter *

Bill Coffin Bill Coffin (born September 17, 1970) is a writer of novels and role-playing games in the fantasy and science fiction genres. Perhaps best known for his work at Palladium Books from July 1998 through May 2002, he made significant contributions to ...

, American writer of novels and role-playing games *

C. Hayden Coffin Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes. Hayden achieved fame as Harry Sher ...

, English actor *

C. L. Coffin Charles L. Coffin of Detroit was awarded for an arc welding process using a metal electrode. This was the first time that metal melted from the electrode carried across the arc to deposit filler metal in the joint to make a weld. Two years earli ...

, American engineer and inventor of the arc welding process using a metal electrode *

Charles Coffin (disambiguation) Charles Coffin may refer to: *Charles Coffin (writer) (1676–1749), French writer, educator and Jansenist * Charles A. Coffin (1844–1926), first President of General Electric corporation *Charles Carleton Coffin Charles Carleton Coffin (July ...

, several people *

Clifford Coffin Major General Clifford Coffin (10 February 1870 – 4 February 1959) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

, English recipient of the Victoria Cross *

Clifford Coffin (photographer) Clifford Coffin (1913–1972) was an American fashion photographer, particularly for ''Vogue'' magazine, and a "wild and eccentric bohemian". He has also been called "the greatest of ''Vogue'' magazine's 'lost' photographers", and an "outspoken ho ...

, British photographer *

David Coffin David Coffin is an American folk musician specializing in early music and sea music, based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. He is the song leader for the Revels music programs in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also presents music enri ...

, American folk musician *

Edmund Coffin Edmund Sloane "Tad" Coffin (born May 9, 1955, in Toledo, Ohio) is an American saddlemaker and equestrian. Coffin won two gold medals in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal riding Bally Cor. He grew up on Long Island, then moved with his family t ...

, American saddle maker and equestrian *

Edward Coffin Edward Coffin (alias Hatton) (1570 – 17 April 1626) was an English Jesuit. Life Coffin was born at Exeter in 1571, and arrived at the English college at Rheims on 19 July 1585. He left that city for Ingoldstadt on 7 November 1586, in compa ...

, English Jesuit * Frank M. Coffin, politician and jurist from the U.S. state of Maine *

Frank Trenholm Coffyn Frank Trenholm Coffyn (October 24, 1878 – December 10, 1960) was a pioneer aviator. Biography He was born in Charleston, South Carolina on October 24, 1878 to Julia (Haskell) and George M. Coffyn, a banker. His brother was William Henry Co ...

(1878–1960), American aviation pioneer *

Frederick Coffin Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American film actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Early life Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin, and was ...

, American film actor, singer, songwriter and musician *

George Coffin George Sturgis Coffin (September 8, 1903 – March 12, 1994) was an American writer and publisher of books on bridge and other games and a distributor of related books and supplies. He was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, and died at Waltham–Wes ...

(1903–1994), American bridge player * Howard A. Coffin (1877–1956), American politician * Howard E. Coffin (1873–1937), American automobile engineer and founder of Hudson Motors *

Henry Sloane Coffin Henry Sloane Coffin (January 5, 1877, in New York City – November 25, 1954, in Lakeville, Connecticut) was president of the Union Theological Seminary, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and one of the mos ...

, American theologian *

Isaac Coffin Major-General Sir Isaac Campbell Coffin ( bap. 24 August 1801 – 1 October 1872) was an officer of the East India Company's military service who served during the company's rule in India, the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Indian Mutiny. He ...

, British East India Company Army officer *

Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet Admiral of the Blue Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet, (also Coffin-Greenly; 16 May 1759 – 23 July 1839), was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Co ...

, Royal Navy officer * James Henry Coffin, American mathematician and meteorologist *

Jeff Coffin Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, with whom he performed from 1997 until 2010. In July 2008, Coffin began to ...

(born 1965), American saxophonist * John Coffin (judge) (c. 1751–1838), army officer, judge and politician in New Brunswick *

John Coffin (scientist) John Coffin is an American virologist. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, raised in Schenectady, New York, Coffin is a professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology at Tufts University in Boston. He is also the former director of the HIV Dynamics a ...

, American virologist *

Joshua Coffin Joshua Coffin (October 12, 1792 – June 24, 1864) was a historian, an American antiquary, and an abolitionist. Life Coffin was born to Joseph and Judith (née Toppan) Coffin in Newbury, Massachusetts October 12, 1792 in the Coffin House. He g ...

, American abolitionist *

Levi Coffin Levi Coffin (October 28, 1798 – September 16, 1877) was an American Quaker, Republican, abolitionist, farmer, businessman and humanitarian. An active leader of the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio, some unofficially called Coffin the " ...

(1798–1877), American Quaker, educator and abolitionist *

Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (''née'' Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongs ...

, née Coffin, American antislavery and women's rights advocate *

Marian Cruger Coffin Marian Cruger Coffin (September 16, 1876 – February 2, 1957) was an American landscape architect who became famous for designing numerous gardens for members of the East Coast elite. As a child, she received almost no formal education but wa ...

, American landscape architect * Micajah Coffin, American mariner, trader in the whaling industry and politician * Millard F. Coffin (born 1955), American marine geophysicist * Nathaniel Coffin, loyalist and Canadian politician *

Owen Coffin Owen Coffin (August 24, 1802 – February 2, 1821) was a sailor aboard the Nantucket whaler ''Essex'' when it set sail for the Pacific Ocean on a sperm whale-hunting expedition in August 1819, under the command of his cousin, George Pollard, Jr. ...

(1802–1821), a teenager on the whaler ''Essex'' who was cannibalized * Peleg Coffin Jr. (1756–1805), American financier, insurer and politician *

Peter Coffin (artist) Peter Coffin (born 1972, Berkeley, California, United States) is an artist based in New York City. Coffin's work is exhibited internationally and featured in several prominent collections. Peter Coffin is currently collaborating with Al Jaffee ...

(born 1972), American artist * Peter Coffin (bishop), Canadian Anglican Bishop of Ottawa from 1999 to 2007 *

Pierre Coffin Pierre-Louis Padang Coffin (born 16 March 1967) is a French animator, voice actor, director, producer, and writer best known for co-directing four films in the ''Despicable Me'' franchise and being the voice of the Minions, which won him the Ki ...

(born 1967), French film director * Richard Coffin (1456–1523), sheriff of Devon in 1511 *

Robert Aston Coffin Robert Aston Coffin (19 July 1819 – 6 April 1885) was an English Redemptorist and Bishop of Southwark (25 May 1882 – 6 April 1885). Coffin was born at Brighton and educated at Harrow School and at Christ Church, Oxford ( BA 1841, MA 18 ...

, English priest *

Robert P. T. Coffin Robert Peter Tristram Coffin (March 18, 1892 – January 20, 1955) was an American poet, educator, writer, editor and literary critic. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1936, he was the Poetry editor for ''Yankee'' magazine. Early life ...

, American writer and poet *

Shannen W. Coffin Shannen Wayne Coffin (born September 19, 1969) is an American attorney for the Washington, D.C. law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP who until early November 2007 served as general counsel to American Vice President Dick Cheney.Time, 21 August 2007: ' ...

, U.S. lawyer * Thomas Coffin (disambiguation), several people *

Tris Coffin Tristram Chockley Coffin (August 13, 1909 – March 26, 1990) was a film and television actor from the latter 1930s through the 1970s, usually in westerns or other B-movie action-adventure productions. Early years Coffin's mother was actre ...

(1909–1990), American actor * Tristram Coffin (disambiguation), several people *

Walter Coffin Walter Coffin (1784 – 15 February 1867) was a Welsh coalowner and Member of Parliament. Coffin is recognised as the first person to exploit the rich coal fields of the Rhondda Valley on an industrial scale, becoming one of the wealthiest coal m ...

, Welsh Member of Parliament and coal owner * Wesley H. Coffyn (1878–1946), Canadian politician * William Coffin (disambiguation), several people *

Zenas Coffin Zenas Coffin (June 3, 1764 – July 8, 1828) was an American mariner and one of the wealthiest whale oil merchants and largest shipowners of his time in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Family life Coffin was born to Micajah Coffin and Abigail (n ...

, one of the most successful of Nantucket's eighteenth-century whaling merchants

In fiction

* Adam Coffin, villain in the 1977 film '' The Deep'', based on the novel by

Peter Benchley Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 11, 2006) was an American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel ''Jaws'' and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works w ...

. *Benjamin Coffin III, landlord in

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...

's musical ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' * Coffin Family, cursed family in the novel ''Coffins'' by

Rodman Philbrick Rodman Philbrick (born January 22, 1951) is an American writer of novels for adults and children. He has written popular children's books such as ''Freak the Mighty'', Max the Mighty, The Last Book on Earth and has written other mysteries and thr ...

*Doctor Coffin: actor Del Manning fakes his death to operate a series of Hollywood mortuaries while fighting crime at night as Doctor Coffin. Written by Perley Poore Sheehan, the stories were originally published in the pulp magazine '' Thrilling Detective'' from 1932 to 1933. * Enoch Coffin, title character of the

Lovecraftian Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named a ...

fiction anthology ''Encounters with Enoch Coffin'', by

W. H. Pugmire Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire (born William Harry Pugmire; May 3, 1951 – March 26, 2019), was a writer of weird fiction and horror fiction based in Seattle, Washington. His works typically were published as W. H. Pugmire (his adopted middle name deriv ...

and Jeffrey Thomas. Enoch is a painter/sculptor who seeks out the supernatural as inspiration for his art. * Flower Child Coffin, the title character in the 1973

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...

film,

Coffy ''Coffy'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction.Gary A. ...

, starring

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distin ...

. * Frank Coffin, detective in the mystery novel series by Jon Loomis *

, a real-life aviator trained by the Wright Brothers, appears as a character in

Jack Finney Walter Braden "Jack" Finney (born John Finney; October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American writer. His best-known works are science fiction and thrillers, including ''The Body Snatchers'' and '' Time and Again''. The former was the ba ...

's novel '' From Time to Time'' * Ghost of Dr. Coffin, villain in the Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour episode ''The Harum Scarum Sanitarium''. The "ghost" is revealed to be Officer Oldfield *Joe Coffin, mobster/hitman turned vampire hunter in the Joe Coffin series by Ken Preston * John Coffin, detective in the mystery novel series by

Gwendoline Butler Gwendoline Butler, née Williams (19 August 1922 – 5 January 2013) was a British writer of mystery fiction and romance novels since 1956, she also used the pseudonym Jennie Melville. Credited for inventing the "woman's police procedural", i ...

* Jonathan Coffin, "Nonno" in

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' play ''The'' ''Night of the Iguana'' *M. T. Coffin, pseudonym for various authors of the

Spinetinglers ''Spinetinglers'' is a series of 30 standalone middle-grade horror novels, written by multiple authors and published under the pseudonym, M.T. Coffin. It was one of the many series of scary books for middle-grade children released in the 1990s, fo ...

series of horror novels for middle-grade children * Mark Coffin, title character of the political novel '' Mark Coffin, U.S.S.'' by Pulitzer Prize winning author

Allen Drury Allen Stuart Drury (September 2, 1918 – September 2, 1998) was an American novelist. During World War II, he was a reporter in the Senate, closely observing Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, among others. He would convert th ...

. * Mistress Coffin, murder victim in the novel ''The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin'' by Robert Begiebing. Set in New England in 1648, it is apparently based on an actual unsolved murder from that period. * Peter Coffin, proprietor of "The Spouter Inn" in

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...

's novel ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...

'' *Peter Coffin, investigator of a grizzly crime scene in the mystery novel ''The Search for My Great Uncle's Head'' by

Jonathan Latimer Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois, L ...

* Ray and Steve Coffin, father and son characters in

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

's ''

Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego Corporation, Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the ''Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy compan ...

'' comic book series; both men assume the persona of

Captain Universe Captain Universe is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity. Rather than a character with a single identity, Captain Universe is a persona that h ...

* Robert Coffin, adventurer and ship captain in the novel ''Maori'' by

Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts. Career ''Star Wars'' Foster was the ghos ...

List of persons with the surname Coffin

In fiction

See also