The lineage started with William Quarles from Norfolk whose son John is first mentioned in 1524.

Willem († 1688), a lineal descendant born in England, who was employed by the VOC, settled in the Netherlands and became warden of the Bailiff of Schieland (bailiwick) [nl] in 1670.

Another grandson, Lodewijk (1719–1781), was ancestor to the lineage of Quarles van Ufford, belonging to the untitled nobility per 1815.

Alexandre Quarles van Ufford (1956) and his progeny are members of Belgian nobility since 1992.

He is a son of the late Dutch ambassador Bryan Quarles van Ufford (1920–1975) who was married to the late Belgian Jonkvrouw Marie-Emilie van der Linden d'Hooghvorst (1918–1991).