Cuffee, Cuffey, or Coffey is a first name and surname recorded in

African-American culture African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American/Bl ...

, believed to be derived from the

Akan language Akan (), or Twi-Fante, is the most populous language of Ghana, and the principal native language of the Akan people, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population speak Akan as a first or second language, and ...

name

Kofi Kofi is an Akan people, Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Bono people, Bono, Akyem, Akwamu, Ashanti people, Ashanti and Fante people, Fante) in Ghana that is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child ...

, meaning "born on a Friday". This was noted as one of the most common male names of

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

origin which was retained by some American slaves.

Racist connotation

The name was used in the United States as a derogatory term to refer to Black people. For example,

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, then a US Senator from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

who later became the President of the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised eleven U.S. states th ...

, said that the discussion of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in the ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case was merely a question of "whether Cuffee should be kept in his normal condition or not."Speech to the United States Senate, May 7, 1860

Notable people

Guyana

* Coffij, leader of the 18th century

Berbice Rebellion The Berbice Rebellion was a slave rebellion in Guyana that began on 23 February 1763Cleve McD. Scott"Berbice Slave Revolt (1763)" in Junius P. Rodriguez, ''Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion'', Vol. 1, Westport, Ct: Greenwood Press, 20 ...

in Guyana.

Jamaica

Cuffee Cuffee, Cuffey, or Coffey is a first name and surname recorded in African-American culture, believed to be derived from the Akan language name Kofi, meaning "born on a Friday". This was noted as one of the most common male names of West Africa, ...

, a

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

who waged a

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream o ...

against plantation owners in Jamaica in the early 1800s.

United Kingdom

William Cuffay William Cuffay (1788 – July 1870) was a Chartism, Chartist leader in early Victorian era, Victorian London. Parents William was mixed-race, the son of an English woman from Gillingham, Kent, Juliana Fox, and a man of African heritage, Chatham ...

(1788–1870), Chartist leader, the son of a former slave.

United States

* Cuffee Mayo (1803–1896), minister, laborer, and politician in North Carolina. *

Ed Cuffee Edward Emerson Cuffee (June 7, 1902 – January 3, 1959) was an American jazz trombonist. Career Cuffee moved to New York in the 1920s, where he recorded with Clarence Williams (1927–29) and played with Bingie Madison. He played in ...

(1902–1959), a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician born in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

who moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1920 to pursue his career as a jazz trombonist. *

Paul Cuffee Paul Cuffe, also known as Paul Cuffee (January 17, 1759 – September 7, 1817) was an African American and Wampanoag businessman, Whaling in the United States, whaler and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. Born Free negro, free int ...

(1759–1817), a Massachusetts freeman and shipping magnate. Cuffee rejected the surname of his former owner, Slocum, and replaced it with his father's Akan name. *

Paul Cuffee (missionary) Paul Cuffee (1757 – March 7, 1812) was a Christian minister, missionary, and preacher. A Native American of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Shinnecock tribe, Cuffee became a Christian and was baptized as a young adult. He was ordained as a minist ...

(1757–1812), Native American (Shinnecock) Christian minister, missionary, and preacher.

References

{{reflist African-American given names