Contents [hide]

Griffith History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies South Africa

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Griffith History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Wales-Alt
Wales

Etymology of Griffith

What does the name Griffith mean?

The name Griffith is from the rugged landscape of Wales. It is a Celtic name that was derived from the Welsh personal names Griffin, Gruffin, or Griffith. These were pet-forms of the Middle Welsh name Gruffudd, which was borne by many Welsh princes. The most prominent of these was Griffith ap Cynan, the King of North Wales and the founder of the first Royal tribe of Wales; he was the eldest son of Rhodri Mawr, the first recorded King of Wales.

Gruffydd ab Llewelyn (d. 1063), King of the Welsh, was the son of Llewelyn, the son of Seisyll. His father, who, according to a late authority, had married Angharad, daughter of Maredudd, son of Owain, a descendant of Hywel Dda (Gwentian Brut, sub an. 994), had been a vigorous ruler over Gwynedd. 1

Gruffydd ab Rhydderch (d. 1055), king of the South Welsh, was the son of Rhydderch, son of lestin, who in 1023 had assumed the government of the south after the death of Llewelyn ab Seisyll, and was killed by the Irish in 1033. 1

Gruffydd ab Cynan (1055?-1137), King of Gwynedd or North Wales, was, through his father Cynan, son of Iago, a descendant of Rhodri Mawr and of the ancient royal line of Gwynedd. 1

Gruffydd ab Gwenwynwyn (d. 1286?), was Lord of Cyveiliog, Upper Powys, or, as it was called from his father, Powys Gwenwynwyn, was the son of Gwenwynwyn, the son of Owain Cyveiliog. 1

Early Origins of the Griffith family

The surname Griffith was first found in Chirk, where Gruffyd ap Madog Vnyon was listed in 1392. 2

Early History of the Griffith family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Griffith research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1332, 1392, 1553, 1558, 1567, 1570, 1599, 1601, 1618, 1622, 1628, 1637, 1640, 1646, 1665, 1666, 1700 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Griffith History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Griffith Spelling Variations

Compared to other ancient cultures found in the British Isles, the number of Welsh surnames are relatively few, but there are an inordinately large number of spelling variations. These spelling variations began almost as soon as surname usage became common. People could not specify how to spell their own names leaving the specific recording up to the individual scribe or priest. Those recorders would then spell the names as they heard them, causing many different variations. Later, many Welsh names were recorded in English. This transliteration process was extremely imprecise since the Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh used many sounds the English language was not accustomed to. Finally, some variations occurred by the individual's design: a branch loyalty within a family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations were indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The Griffith name over the years has been spelled Griffith, Griffiths, Gryffudd, Gryffuths and others.

Early Notables of the Griffith family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

Mauirce Griffith, Griffyth or Griffyn (d. 1558), Bishop of Rochester, born in Wales, and educated in the south suburb of Oxford, among the Dominicans. 1 Edmund Griffith (1570-1637), was Bishop of...
John Griffith (1622?-1700), was General Baptist minister who appears to have joined the Baptists about 1640, and founded about 1646 a congregation in Dunning's Alley, Bishopsgate Street Without. Matth...

Griffith Ranking

In the United States, the name Griffith is the 339^th most popular surname with an estimated 79,584 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Griffith family to Ireland

Some of the Griffith family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Griffith migration to the United States +

Many people from Wales joined the general migration to North America in the 19th and 20th centuries, searching for land, work, and freedom. Like the many other immigrants from the British Isles, they made a significant contribution to the development of Canada and the United States. The Welsh and their descendents added a rich cultural tradition to the newly developed towns, cities, and villages. An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Griffith:

Griffith Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ambrose Griffith, who landed in Virginia in 1623 4
George Griffith, who arrived in New England in 1631 4
Jo Griffith, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Globe" 4
Joshua Griffith, aged 25, British servant who arrived in America in 1635 aboard the ship "Abigail" 4
Edward Griffith, aged 33, British settler who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Abraham" 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Griffith Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Judith Griffith, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1701-1703 4
Elizabeth Griffith, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1701 4
Elizabeth, Griffith Jr., who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1701 4
Samuel Griffith, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1701-1703 4
Hugh Griffith, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1704 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Griffith Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Aiex Griffith, who arrived in New York, NY in 1804 4
Richard Griffith, who arrived in Maryland in 1804 4
Robert Griffith, who arrived in New York, NY in 1804 4
Daniel Griffith, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 4
Robert Griffith, who arrived in America in 1810 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Griffith Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William Griffith, who landed in Alaska in 1900 4

Griffith migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Griffith Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Henry Griffith, who settled in St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland, in 1703 5
Fenton Griffith, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749
Thomas Griffith, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
Dorcas Griffith, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1778
Mr. Hester Griffith U.E. who settled in Belle Vue, Beaver Harbor, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1783 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Griffith Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Margaret Griffith, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1831
Ellen Griffith, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Zephyr" in 1833
William Griffith, aged 60, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Charity" from Kinsale, Ireland
Patrick Griffith, aged 21, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Charity" from Kinsale, Ireland
James Griffith, aged 20, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Charity" from Kinsale, Ireland
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Griffith migration to Australia +

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

Griffith Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Anne Griffith, (b. 1781), aged 37, Irish convict who was convicted in Meath, Ireland for 14 years for forgery, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 26th July 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1837 7
Mr. Stephen Griffith, English convict who was convicted in Sussex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 22nd September 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. John Griffith who was convicted in Flint, Flintshire, Wales for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dick" on 2nd October 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Robert Griffith, (b. 1806), aged 21, Welsh labourer who was convicted in Caernarfon (Carnarvon), Wales for life, transported aboard the "Champion" on 24th May 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. William Griffith, English convict who was convicted in West Riding, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Griffith 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:

Griffith Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

J Griffith, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1842
Mary Griffith, aged 23, a servant, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Halcione" in 1870 12
Ellen Griffith, aged 26, a nurse, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Hudson" in 1879

Griffith 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

Griffith Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Walter Griffith, who settled in Jamaica in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Griffith (post 1700) +

Andy Samuel Griffith (1926-2012), American actor, director, and producer perhaps best known for the 1960s situation comedy, The Andy Griffith Show and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
David Llewelyn Wark "D.W." Griffith (1880-1948), pioneering American film director, best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation; he was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Miles Griffith (1970-2025), American jazz singer
Corinne Griffith (1894-1979), née Griffin, American Academy Award nominated film actress, producer, author and businesswoman dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen"
Steven Griffith (1961-2022), American ice hockey player who played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the American national team at the 1984 Winter Olympics and 1981 World Junior Championship
Leslie Ray Griffith (1956-2022), American writer and journalist who worked for 22 years at KTVU in the San Francisco Bay Area as a reporter and as a news anchor
Nanci Caroline Griffith (1953-2021), American singer, guitarist, and songwriter from Austin, Texas, who lived in Nashville, Tennessee, winner of the 1994 Grammy Award for the album Other Voices, Other Rooms
Grace Griffith (d. 2021), American folk and Celtic singer based in Washington, D.C
María Aline Griffith Dexter (1923-2017), Countess of Romanones, Spanish-American aristocrat, socialite, and writer
William Riley Griffith, American Republican politician, Kansas superintendent of public instruction, 1861-62 14
... (Another 117 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Griffith family +

Flight TWA 800

Ms. Jo-Anne S. Griffith (1957-1996), aged 39, from Brooklyn, New York, USA, American off-duty TWA employee flying aboard Flight TWA 800 from J.F.K. Airport, New York to Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome when the plane crashed after takeoff ; she died in the crash 15
Ms. Donna Lynn Griffith (1959-1996), aged 37, from Westhampton, New York, USA, American passenger flying aboard flight TWA 800 from J.F.K. Airport, New York to Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome when the plane crashed after takeoff ; she died in the crash 15

Halifax Explosion

Gladstone Fitzgerald Griffith (1917-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 16

RMS Lusitania

Mr. George Griffith, English Second Waiter from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 17

USS Indianapolis

Robert Lee Griffith (1919-1992), 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 survived the sinking 18

Sources +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
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 3rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Dick
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 18th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/champion
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 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, June 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Washington Post Passenger List TWA Flight 800. (Retrieved 2018, February 15th). Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/twa800/list01.htm
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 10) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew