Godfrey
A medieval personal-name surname meaning “God’s peace” or “God’s favor,” later used as a family name.
The #1,230 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,745 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Godfrey comes from an old Germanic personal name, the same name as Geoffrey in later forms. It is built from elements meaning “God” and “peace” or “protection,” so the name was understood as something like “God’s peace” or “peace under God.” Medieval Latin records often spell it in forms such as Goisfridus, and the surname developed from the personal name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The name was well established in medieval England, and it appears frequently in documentary records. Lower notes that the Latinized form Goisfridus is common in Domesday-era records, showing how early the personal name was in use. As a surname, Godfrey would have arisen from descent from a man called Godfrey, eventually becoming hereditary across English-speaking areas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same medieval name gave rise to both the surnames Godfrey and Geoffrey, which were once much closer in spelling and pronunciation than they are today.
From the historical record
“gus, &c., occur in A-Sax. times. GODFREY. GODFREE. An ancient Teutonic personal name — the same as Geof- frey. The form Goisfridus is very common in Domesd. The Godfreys of Brook-Street House, Kent, are supposed to be descended from Godfrey le Faucouer.lord of the manor of Hurst in that county, in the reign of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom