Godfrey (name)

Godfrey is a given name and a 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
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, proposed to King Baldwin I and Count Hugh that community of nine knights join to form Knights Templar

Modern

Godfrey (comedian) (born 1969), stage name of Godfrey Danchimah
Godfrey Abela (born 1965), Maltese darts player
Godfrey Agnew (1913–1995), British civil servant
Godfrey Argent (1937–2006), English photographer
Godfrey Ashby (born 1930), British Anglican bishop, theologian and academic
Godfrey Cambridge (1933–1976), American comedian
Godfrey Fuchs (1889–1972), German-Canadian soccer player
Godfrey Kiprotich (born 1964), Kenyan distance runner
Godfrey Reggio (born 1939), American director of experimental documentary films
Godfrey A. Rockefeller (1924–2010), American aviator
Godfrey Zaunbrecher (born 1946), American football player
Thomas Godfrey Evans (1920–1999), English cricketer
Godfrey Gao (1984-2019), Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor

Fictional characters

Godfrey Ablewhite, a character in the novel The Moonstone
Godfrey, also known as Godric, a character in the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris
Gordon Godfrey, a supporting character and supervillain of the DC comics.

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
Bob Godfrey (1921–2013), English animator
Bob Godfrey (footballer), Scottish footballer
Brian Godfrey (1940–2010), Welsh footballer
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
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
Richard Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
Robert John Godfrey (born 1947), British composer, pianist and founder member of The Enid
Steve Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people
Thomas J. Godfrey, (1831–1906), American legislator
Tommy Godfrey (1916–1984), British actor
Tony Godfrey (footballer) (born 1939), English footballer
Wilhelmina McAlpin Godfrey (1914–1994), American tapestry artist
William Godfrey (disambiguation), multiple people

References

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) [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.