Duffy Surname History
Origin Displayed: Irish


The Middle Ages saw a great number of spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period because the general population was illiterate and could not specify an exact spelling for their names. The following variations for the name Duffy were encountered in the archives: Duffey, Duffy, O'Duffey, O'Duffy, Duffe, O'Duffe, Doey, Dohey, Doohey, O'Dowey and many more.
First found in Connaught where they held a family seat from very ancient times, and were one of the many families descended from the great Kings of Ireland called the "Three Collas.

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Duffy family came to North America quite early: Alice Duffey who landed in Maryland in 1724. In Newfoundland, Philip Duffy settled in Harbour Grace in 1827; Thomas Duffey settled in St. John's in 1829