Contents [hide]

Godfrey History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Sources

Godfrey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Godfrey

What does the name Godfrey mean?

The surname Godfrey is an Anglicization of the Irish Ó Gothraidh, which in turn is derived from the personal name Gothfrith or Godefrid. This personal name, meaning "god peace" is said to have been brought to Ireland by the Norsemen. It was borne by Godfrid, the grandson of Ivar, who ruled Dublin in 921-7. Godfrid, the son of Sitric was defeated by Ruaidr¡ ua Canann in 950. Gofraid mac Amlaib meic Ragnaill (died 1075) was a late eleventh-century King of Dublin. The name Godfrey also came to Ireland with English settlers in the 17th century.

Early Origins of the Godfrey family

The surname Godfrey was first found in the district between Portumna and Birr, in present day County Offaly (Irish: Uíbh Fháilí) originally the Kingdom of Uí Failghe, located in central Ireland in the Province of Leinster, and north County Tipperary.

Early History of the Godfrey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Godfrey research. Another 23 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1664 and 1666 are included under the topic Early Godfrey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Godfrey Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gohery, Geoghery, Gohary, Godfry, Godfrey and many more.

Early Notables of the Godfrey family

More information is included under the topic Early Godfrey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Godfrey World Ranking

In the United States, the name Godfrey is the 1,101^st most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 1 However, in Australia, the name Godfrey is ranked the 663^rd most popular surname with an estimated 5,884 people with that name. 2 And in New Zealand, the name Godfrey is the 600^th popular surname with an estimated 1,198 people with that name. 3 The United Kingdom ranks Godfrey as 479^th with 13,424 people. 4

Godfrey migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Godfrey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Godfrey who settled in Maine in 1630
Peter Godfrey, who arrived in New England in 1631 5
John Godfrey, who arrived in New England in 1634 aboard the ship "Mary & John" 5
Jo Godfrey, aged 21, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Transport" 5
Richard Godfrey who settled in Virginia in 1652
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Godfrey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Vincent Godfrey, who landed in Virginia in 1701 5
Mary Godfrey, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 5
Fra Godfrey, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 5
William Godfrey, who arrived in America in 1765 5
Sarah Godfrey, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1773 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Godfrey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Godfrey, who arrived in Savanna(h), Georgia in 1806 5
Thomas Godfrey, who landed in New York, NX in 1815 5
Margaret Godfrey, aged 65, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 5
Kemp Godfrey, who arrived in New York, NY in 1834 5
Denis, Edward, George, James, John, Joseph, Michael, Peter, Sarah, Steven, William Godfrey all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Godfrey migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Godfrey Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Ely Godfrey U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 463 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 6
Mrs. Hannah Godfrey U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 539 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 6
Miss Mary Godfrey U.E. (b. 1782), aged 1 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 40 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 6
Miss Mary Godfrey U.E. (b. 1764), aged 19 who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on December 13, 1783 was passenger number 601 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on November 14, 1783 at East River, New York 6

Godfrey Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Richard Godfrey, who arrived in Canada in 1832
Newcomb Godfrey, who landed in Canada in 1834

Godfrey migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Godfrey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Godfrey, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" on 23rd April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
John Godfrey, English convict from Devon, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on July 3, 1822, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Mr. Henry Godfrey, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 25th June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Thomas Godfrey, English convict from Bristol, who was transported aboard the "America" on April 4, 1829, settling in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. Henry Godfrey, English convict who was convicted in Norfolk, Norfolkshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Godfrey migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Godfrey Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Colonel Godfrey, Australian settler travelling from Sydney aboard the ship "Earl of Lonsdale" arriving in Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand in 1840 12
Edward Lee Godfrey, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1841
Henry Godfrey, who landed in Nelson, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Geo Fife
Henry Godfrey, aged 17, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "George Fyfe" in 1842
Mr. Godfrey, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "George Fyffe" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 7th November 1842 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Godfrey migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 13

Godfrey Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Hugh Godfrey who settled in Barbados in 1663
Andrew Godfrey who settled in Barbados in 1678

Contemporary Notables of the name Godfrey (post 1700) +

John Ray Godfrey (1944-2024), American basketball player
Joseph Godfrey, American Republican politician, Candidate for Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1866 14
John T. Godfrey, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 16 aerial victories
Vincent T. Godfrey, American Democratic Party politician, Presidential Elector for California, 1944 14
William Godfrey, American politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from St. Louis City 6th District, 1905-06 14
Tom Godfrey, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 1952 14
Thomas J. Godfrey, American politician, Delegate to Ohio State Constitutional Convention from Mercer County, 1873 14
Rufus B. Godfrey, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Vermont, 1908 14
Stacey Godfrey, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 2000, 2004 14
Rosa Godfrey, American politician, Member of Iowa American Independent State Central Committee, 1971 14
... (Another 55 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Godfrey family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Philip Godfrey, British Petty Officer Telegraphist, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 15

HMS Repulse

Mr. George A Godfrey, British Engine Room Artificer 5th Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 16

USS Indianapolis

Marlo Roy Godfrey, American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he was one of the many who were killed in the sinking due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks 17

The Godfrey Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Deus et libertas
Motto Translation: God and liberty

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 155 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1822
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 26) America voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1829 with 176 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/america/1829
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew