First found in Bavaria, where the family made a considerable contribution to the feudal society which shaped modern Europe.

Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Valentin and Matthew Kraft, both of whom arrived in America with their wives and children in 1709. Andreas Krafft landed in Philadelphia in 1728, as did Hans Michael Crafft in 1742, and Hendk Craft at the age of 18 in 1748, while Franz Krafft came to Canada with the United Empire Loyalists in 1783, and Isaac Craft settled in San Francisco in 1850