Goffe

Goffe is an English surname. It is of English origin and has appeared in various historical records with different spellings over time. The name is most often encountered in discussions of English and early American history through its association with a single prominent figure.

The best-known bearer is William Goffe (circa 1605–c. 1675), a Puritan lawyer who was one of the regicides responsible for signing the death warrant of Charles I. After the Restoration in 1660, Goffe fled to the American colonies to escape punishment. In New England, he and fellow regicide Edward Whalley lived in hiding for many years, reportedly sheltered by sympathetic Puritans in Boston and later in New Haven. Colonial authorities sought to arrest them, but they evaded capture during their lifetimes, and details of their final years and burial remain uncertain. The Goffe episode is often cited in studies of religious and political life in seventeenth-century New England and reflects the broader tensions between England’s political upheavals and the colony’s governance.

Beyond this historical association, the name Goffe appears in genealogical and local history contexts, representing families and lineages rather than a single, unified institution or location. As a surname, it continues to be carried by individuals and communities in various regions, with no single contemporary meaning beyond its historical and genealogical associations.