# Godfrey (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/godfrey/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 28,734 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,230 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 10,745 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.7% (27,700 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɑdfɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old French Godefrei, from Old High German Godafrid (“peace of God”), from Proto-Germanic *Gudafriþuz. Equivalent to god + frith. Doublet of Gottfried and Geoffrey.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Godfrey in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 78% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 16% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Godfrey in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Godfrey

- Arthur Godfrey, American radio personality and television actor (1903–1983)
- Linsey Godfrey, American actress
- Larry Godfrey, British archer
- Renee Godfrey, American actress and singer (1919-1964)
- Peter Godfrey-Smith, Australian philosopher
- Patrick Godfrey, British actor (1933–2026)
- Peter Godfrey, British actor and director (1899-1970)
- Thomas Godfrey, American optician and inventor (1704-1749)
- John Trevor Godfrey, American flying ace
- Tommy Godfrey, British actor (1916-1984)
- Bob Godfrey, British animator (1921–2013)

## Similar surnames

Gottfried, Gadberry.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.