Gaffney Family History
Gaffney Name Meaning
Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Ó Gamhna ‘descendant of Gamhain’ a byname meaning ‘calf’. The English surname Caulfield was adopted in Ireland as a supposed equivalent. Irish: alternatively from Mag Fhachtna ‘son of Fachtna’ usually Anglicized as Gaffney in Longford. Possibly an altered form of Swiss German Gaffner a topographic name for a cottage dweller from dialect Gafene ‘large basket Alpine (dairy) hut’.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022