Godfrey

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Godfrey

Gender: Masculine
Language: English
Etymology:
Godfrey is the English form an Old Germanic name, Godafrid, and an Old English name, Godfrith, meaning “God’s Peace” based on “God” and “fried” (peace).

History:
Godfrey, based on the Norman French Godefrey (from the Germanic Godafrid) was introduced to England by the Normans (along with Geoffrey, with which it is often confused).
Godfrey was a popular name during the Middle Ages, though it is highly unpopular now.

Pronunciation: god-free.

Diminutives:
German: Götz.

Alternates:
Dutch: Gottfried.
German: Gottfried.
Hawaiian: Kokapeli.
Latin: Godefridus.
Scottish: Goraidh.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Gottfried von Strassburg (13th century)
German poet.
Sir Godfrey Kneller (Gottfried Kniller) (1646-1723)
British painter.
Gottfried Bürger (1747-1794)
German writer.
Gottfried Schadow (1764-1850)
German sculptor.
Gottfried Semper (1803-1879)
German architect.
Gottfried Kinkel (1815-1882)
German poet.
Gottfried Keller (1819-1890)
German-Swiss writer.
Gottfried Benn (1886-1956)
German poet.
Gottfried von Einem (1918-1996)
Austrian composer.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Godfrey of Saint-Victor (1125-1194)
French philosopher.
Godfrey of Fontaines (1250-1305)
French philosopher.
Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716)
German philosopher.
Gottfried von Haberler (1900-1995)
Austrian-American economist.
Godfrey Wilson (1908-1944)
British anthropologist.
Gottfried “Golo” Mann (1909-1994)
German historian.

Miscellaneous:
Godfrey Household (1060-1100)
A leader of the first crusade.
Gottfried Pappenheim (1594-1632)
German military commander.
Gottfried Silbermann (1683-1753)
German musical instrument maker.
Godfrey Evans (1920-1999)
English cricketer.

Political Figures:
Godfrey Huggins, Viscount Malvern (1883-1971)
Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia.
Gottfried Feder (1883-1941)
German political activist.

Royalty:
Godfrey (?-810)
King of Denmark.

Scientists:
Godfrey H. Hardy (1877-1947)
British mathematician.
Sir Godfrey Hounsfield (1919-)
British electrical engineer. Co-winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
less than 0.004 % named Godfrey

Popularity of Godfrey:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 882nd most popular.
1910-1920: 939th most popular.
1920-2000: N/A