Godfrey (name) explained

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
• Fran Godfrey (born 1953), former BBC Radio 2 newsreader
• Frank Godfrey (1889-?), English World War I flying ace
• 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

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.

Sources

• Book: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland . Hanks . P . Patrick Hanks . Coates . R . McClure . P . 2016 . . 2 . Oxford . 978-0-19-879882-8 . H2.
• Book: A Dictionary of First Names . 2nd . Hanks . P . Hardcastle . K . Hodges . F . 2006 . First published 1990 . Oxford University Press . Oxford . Oxford Paperback Reference . 978-0-19-861060-1 . H1.
• Book: Mark, C . The Gaelic-English Dictionary . 2003 . . New York . 0-203-27706-6 . M1.

Notes and References

1. [#M1|Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006)]
2. [#M1|Mark (2003)]
3. [#M1|Hanks; Coates; McClure (2016)]