Godfrey is a given name and an English surname. The given name is derived from the Old French Godefroy, a name composed of the elements: the first being either God ("God") or gōd ("good"); the second being fred ("peace"). The name was brought to England by settlers from Normandy, the Low Countries, and France.[1] The name is rendered Goraidh, Goiridh in Scottish Gaelic.[2] In some cases the surname is derived from the Middle English personal name Godfrey, Godefrey; or the Old French Godefrei, Godefroi, Godefrois; or the Continental Germanic Godefrid. In other cases, the surname is derived from the Irish Mac Gothraidh or Ó Gothraidh.[3]
Given name
Medieval
- Godfrey of Amiens (1066–1115), bishop of Amiens
- Godfrey of Bath (died 1135), bishop of Bath
- Godfrey of Bouillon (1060–1100), leader of the First Crusade, first king of Jerusalem
- Godfrey of Brabant (died 1302), Belgian noble
- Godfrey of Cambrai (11th century), prior and poet
- Godfrey of Chichester (11th century), bishop of Chichester
- Godfrey of Esch (11th century), Lord of Esch and crusader
- Godfrey of Fontaines (13th century), scholastic philosopher and theologian
- Godfrey (patriarch of Aquileia) (died 1194)
- Godfrey of Saint Victor (c. 1125 – c. 1195), French monk and theologian
- Godfrey of Viterbo (c. 1120 – c. 1196), Roman Catholic chronicler
- Godred Crovan (died 1095), King of Dublin and the Isles
- Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill (died 1075), King of Dublin
- Godfrey van Rhenen (died 1178), bishop of Utrecht
- Godfrey of Saint-Omer (c. 1100 – 1160), knight
Modern
- Godfrey (born 1969), stage name of Godfrey Danchimah
- Godfrey Agnew (1913–1995), British civil servant
- Godfrey Argent (1937–2006), English photographer
- Godfrey Ashby (born 1930), British Anglican bishop, theologian and academic
- Godfrey Baldacchino (born 1960), Maltese-Canadian social scientist
- Godfrey Cambridge (1933–1976), American comedian
- Godfrey Darbishire (1853–1889), English-born Welsh rugby union forward
- Godfrey Evans (1920–1999), English cricketer
- Godfrey Farrugia (born 1960), Maltese politician
- Godfrey Fuchs (1889–1972), German-Canadian soccer player
- Godfrey Gao (1984–2019), Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor
- Godfrey Douglas Giles (1857–1941), English painter
- Godfrey Goldsborough (1548–1604), English clergyman
- Godfrey G. Goodwin (1873–1933), American politician
- Godfrey Grayson (1913–1998), English film director
- Godfrey Ho (born 1948), Hong Kong film director and screenwriter
- Godfrey Hounsfield (1919–2004), English electrical engineer
- Godfrey Huggins (1883–1971), Rhodesian politician and physician
- Godfrey Imhof (1911–1963), English racing driver
- Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki (1937–2017), Kenyan politician
- Godfrey Kiprotich (born 1964), Kenyan distance runner
- Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723), English portrait painter
- Godfrey Lagden (1851–1934), British colonial administrator
- Godfrey Edward Madawala (1878-1932), Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician
- Godfrey McCulloch (1640–1697), Scottish politician and murderer
- Godfrey McHugh (1911–1997), United States Air Force general
- Godfrey Morse (1846–1911), German-American lawyer
- Godfrey Mwakikagile (born 1949), Tanzanian scholar and author
- Godfrey O'Donnell (1939–2020), Northern Irish priest
- Godfrey Reggio (born 1939), American director of experimental documentary films
- Godfrey A. Rockefeller (1924–2010), American aviator
- Godfrey Shawa, Malawian politician
- Godfrey Vigne (1801–1863), English cricketer and traveler
- Godfrey Walusimbi (born 1989), Ugandan footballer
- Godfrey Zaunbrecher (born 1946), American football player
Fictional characters
- Godfrey Ablewhite, a character in the novel The Moonstone
- Godfrey, a character in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
- Godfrey, also known as Godric, a character in The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris
- Gordon Godfrey, a supporting character and supervillain from DC Comics
- Godfrey, a character in the television series Taboo
- Godfrey, First Elden Lord, a character in the video game Elden Ring
Surname
- Albert Earl Godfrey (1890–1982), Canadian First World War flying ace
- Ambrose Godfrey (1660–1741), phosphorus manufacturer
- Arthur Godfrey (1903–1983), American radio and television broadcaster
- Ben Godfrey (born 1998), English footballer
- Billie Godfrey (born 1978), English singer
- Bob Godfrey (1921–2013), English animator
- Bob Godfrey (footballer), Scottish footballer
- Brett Godfrey (born 1963), Australian businessman
- Brian Godfrey (1940–2010), Welsh footballer
- Charles Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
- Dan Godfrey (1868–1939), British conductor, son of bandmaster Daniel Godfrey
- Daniel Godfrey (bandmaster) (1831–1903), British bandmaster and composer
- Daniel Strong Godfrey (born 1949), American composer
- DeWitt Godfrey (born 1960), an American modernist sculptor
- Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey (1621–1678), magistrate murdered in 1678
- Edmund Godfrey-Faussett
- Edward Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
- Frederick Race Godfrey (1828–1910), public figure and politician in Victoria, Australia
- George Godfrey (1853–1901), Canadian boxer and world 'colored' heavyweight champion
- Feab S. Williams (1897–1947), American boxer and world 'colored' heavyweight champion (better known as George Godfrey; named after Godfrey)
- Isidore Godfrey (1900–1977), conductor
- Kathy Godfrey (died 1981), American talk show host on radio and television
- Laurie Godfrey (born 1945), American anthropologist
- Marjorie Godfrey (1919–2003), Indian politician
- Martyn Godfrey (1949–2000), English-Canadian author
- Paul Godfrey (born 1939), former president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays
- Rebecca Godfrey (1967–2022), Canadian novelist and nonfiction writer
- Richard Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
- Robert Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
- Robert John Godfrey (born 1947), British composer, pianist and founder member of The Enid
- Steve Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
- Thomas Godfrey, multiple people
- Tony Godfrey (footballer) (born 1939), English footballer
- Wilhelmina McAlpin Godfrey (1914–1994), American tapestry artist
- William Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
Fictional Characters
- Clara Godfrey, maiden name "Clara Lessard", a sixth and eighth grade Social Studies teacher at P.S. 38
See also
- Geoffrey (given name), a possible English/French equivalent
- Godfrey (disambiguation)
- Godfrid
- Godfried, a Dutch equivalent
- Gottfried, a German equivalent
- Queen Goodfey, supporting character of Mysticons, in which she is the kind and brave ruler of the people of planet Gemina.
Citations
- ↑ Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 112.
- ↑ Mark (2003) p. 715.
- ↑ Hanks; Coates; McClure (2016) p. 1073.
Sources
- Hanks, P; Coates, R; McClure, P, eds. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-879882-8.
- Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K; Hodges, F (2006) [First published 1990]. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.
- Mark, C (2003). The Gaelic-English Dictionary. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-27706-6.
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