# Godwin (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/godwin/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “god's friend”, “friend” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɒdwɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 578 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 578 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 279, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old English Godwine (“God's friend”). The component -win is from Old English wine (“friend”). The second meaning is named after Michael Wayne Godwin (born 1956), American attorney and author.

## What it means

Godwin is grouped under friend.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 22 | 4,413 |
| 2012 | 18 | 5,108 |
| 2013 | 13 | 6,371 |
| 2014 | 8 | 9,060 |
| 2015 | 18 | 5,138 |
| 2016 | 18 | 5,195 |
| 2017 | 19 | 4,995 |
| 2018 | 22 | 4,519 |
| 2019 | 17 | 5,409 |
| 2020 | 8 | 9,001 |
| 2021 | 16 | 5,624 |
| 2022 | 9 | 8,543 |
| 2023 | 17 | 5,538 |
| 2024 | 14 | 6,291 |
| 2025 | 15 | 5,951 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 1,909 |
| 2012 | 10 | 2,117 |
| 2013 | 15 | 1,539 |
| 2014 | 11 | 1,935 |
| 2015 | 20 | 1,279 |
| 2016 | 17 | 1,498 |
| 2017 | 14 | 1,703 |
| 2018 | 15 | 1,610 |
| 2019 | 8 | 2,488 |
| 2020 | 3 | 4,608 |
| 2021 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2023 | 8 | 2,546 |
| 2024 | 7 | 2,921 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2,269 |

## People named Godwin

- Godwin, Earl of Wessex, Anglo-Saxon nobleman; son of Wulfnoth Cild
- Carter Godwin Woodson, American historian, writer, and journalist (1875–1950)
- Godwin von Brumowski, Austro-Hungarian flying ace (1889-1936)
- Godwin Attram, footballer
- Ty, British rapper (1972–2020)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.