Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

name , recorded since the 7th century. The name is composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with ) and ('peace, protection'). The German name was commonly hypocoristically abbreviated as ''

Götz Götz or Goetz () is a German name, in origin a hypocorism of '' Gottfried''. It remains in use as a short form of ''Gottfried'', but it has also become a surname. Surnames ;Goetz * Alphonse Goetz (1865-1934), French chess master * Arturo Goetz, ...

'' from the late medieval period. ''Götz'' and variants (including '' Göthe, Göthke'' and ''Göpfert'') also came into use as

German surname Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a surname (''Nachname, Familienname''). The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western orde ...

s. Gottfried is a common

Jewish surname Jewish surnames are family names used by Jews and those of Jewish origin. Jewish surnames are thought to be of comparatively recent origin; the first known Jewish family names date to the Middle Ages, in the 10th and 11th centuries CE. Jews have ...

as well.

Given name

The given name ''Gottfried'' became extremely frequent in Germany in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

, to the point of eclipsing most other names in ''God-'' (such as ''Godabert, Gotahard, Godohelm, Godomar, Goduin, Gotrat, Godulf'', etc.) The name was Latinised as ''Godefridus''. Medieval bearers of the name include: *

Gotfrid :''See Gottfried for the given name.'' Gotfrid (also ''Gotefrid'', modernized ''Gottfried''; la, Gotfridus or ''Cotefredus''; (c. 650–709) was the Duke of Alemannia in the late seventh century and until his death. He was of the house of the Agil ...

, Duke of Alemannia and

Raetia Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west ...

(d. 709) *Godefrid (d. c. 720), son of

Drogo of Champagne Drogo (c.675 – 708) was a Frankish nobleman, the eldest son of Pippin of Heristal and Plectrudis. He was the duke of Champagne from the early 690s. Drogo was born shortly after his parents' marriage, which probably took place in 675 or just aft ...

, Frankish nobleman. *

Godfrid Haraldsson Godfrid Haraldsson () was the son of the Danish king Harald Klak. In 826 he was baptized together with his parents in Mainz in the Frankish Empire, with crown prince Lothair standing as a godparent. After his baptism, Godfrid stayed in Lothair's ...

(d. c. 856), Danish Viking leader *

Godfrid, Duke of Frisia Godfrid, Godafrid, Gudfrid, or Gottfrid ( non, Guðfrið; murdered June 885) was a Danish Viking leader of the late ninth century. He had probably been with the Great Heathen Army, descended on the continent, and became a vassal of the emperor C ...

(d. 885), Danish Viking leader * Godfrey, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (d. 949) * Godfrey I, Duke of Lower Lorraine (d. 964) * Geoffrey I "Greymantle", Count of Anjou (d. 987) *

Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany Geoffrey I (c. 980 – 20 November 1008), also known as Geoffrey of Rennes and Geoffrey Berengar, was the eldest son of Duke Conan I of Brittany. He was Count of Rennes (ruler of the Romano-Frankish ''civitas'' of Rennes), by right of successio ...

(d. 1008) *

Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey II (965–1023), called the Childless, son of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun, was the duke of Lower Lorraine after the death in 1012 of the Carolingian Otto, who left no sons. He was appointed duke by Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, on the ad ...

(d. 1023) * Geoffrey II "the Hammer", Count of Anjou (d. 1060) *

Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey III ( 997 – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal ...

(d. 1069) *

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

(''Godefridus Bullionensis, Godefroy de Bouillon'', d. 1100), Frankish knight and leader of the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

Gottfried II of Raabs Gottfried II of Raabs (died ) was Burgrave of the medieval Burgraviate of Nuremberg, jointly with his brother Conrad I, from 1105 until his death. Life Gottfried II was a member of the '' edelfrei'' von Raabs family. He was the son of Gottf ...

(d. c. 1137), burgrave of Nuremberg *

Gottfried of Admont Gottfried of Admont (died 1165) was the Benedictine abbot of Admont Abbey from 1137 until his death. He is considered to be a reformer and the founder of the "school of Admont", and he is also credited with greatly improving the abbey's library. ...

(d. 1165), Benedictine abbot *

Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Geoffrey II ( br, Jafrez; , xno, Geoffroy; 23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and 3rd Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage to Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons ...

(d. c. 1181) *

Geoffrey of Clairvaux Geoffrey of Clairvaux, or Geoffrey of Auxerre, was the secretary and biographer of Bernard of Clairvaux and later abbot of a number of monasteries in the Cistercian tradition. Life He was born between the years 1115 and 1120, at Auxerre. At an ear ...

(d. after 1188), Cistercian abbot *

Godfrey of Viterbo Godfrey of ViterboAlso called Geoffrey of Viterbo, in Italian ''Goffredo da Viterbo'' and in German ''Gottfried von Viterbo'', from Latin ''Gaufridus'', ''Godefridus'' or ''Gotefredus Viterbensis''. (c. 1120 – c. 1196) was a Roman Catholic chroni ...

(''Godefridus Viterbiensis'', c. 1120 – c. 1196) *

Geoffrey of Vinsauf Geoffrey of Vinsauf ( fl. 1200) is a representative of the early medieval grammarian movement, termed ''preceptive grammar'' for its interest in teaching '' ars poetria''. ''Ars poetria'' is a subdivision of the grammatical art ('' ars grammatic ...

(fl. 1200), medieval grammarian *

Gottfried von Strassburg Gottfried von Strassburg (died c. 1210) is the author of the Middle High German courtly romance ', an adaptation of the 12th-century ''Tristan and Iseult'' legend. Gottfried's work is regarded, alongside the ''Nibelungenlied'' and Wolfram von Esc ...

(d. 1210), author of a Middle High German courtly romance *

Geoffrey of Villehardouin Geoffrey of Villehardouin (c. 1150 – c. 1213) was a French knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade. He is considered one of the most important historians of the time period,Smalley, p. 131 best known for w ...

(d. c. 1212), knight and historian of the Fourth Crusade * Gottfried von Hohenlohe (1265–1310), Grand Master of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

* Gottfried von Hagenau (died 1313), poet, theologian and medical doctor from Alsace A notable early modern bearer of the name is

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...

(1646–1716). ''Gottfried'' remains comparatively popular in Germany, ranking in the top 200 masculine given names.found to be at rank 135 with 11,738 entries in the German phonebook as of 2005 according to :de:wikt:Verzeichnis:Deutsch/Liste der häufigsten männlichen Vornamen Deutschlands.

Surname

Gesche Gottfried Gesche Gottfried (1785–1831) Gesina ("Gesche") Margarethe Gottfried (née Timm; 6 March 1785 – 21 April 1831) was a German serial killer who murdered 15 people by arsenic poisoning in Bremen and Hanover, Germany, between 1813 and 1827. She wa ...

(1785–1831), German serial killer *

John Gottfried John Charles Gottfried (October 13, 1917 in Welland, Ontario – July 28, 1980) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977. The son of Anthony Gottfried and Len ...

(1917–1980), Canadian politician * Martha Joy Gottfried (1925–2014), American landscape painter * Robert W. Gottfried (1926–2007), American entrepreneur *

Martin Gottfried Martin Gottfried (October 9, 1933 – March 6, 2014) was an American critic, columnist and author. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Biography Early career Gottfried was a 1959 graduate of Columbia College in New York City, and attended Columb ...

(1933–2014), American critic, columnist and author *

Dan Gottfried Dan Gottfried ( he, דן גוטפריד ; born 1939) is an Israeli jazz pianist and music educator. In 1987 he founded the Red Sea Jazz Festival, which he directed until his retirement in 2008. He is president of the Israeli Musicians Union. Bi ...

(1939– ), Israeli jazz pianist and lawyer *

Paul Gottfried Paul Edward Gottfried (born November 21, 1941) is an American paleoconservative political philosopher, historian, and writer. He is a former Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. He is editor-in-chief of the paleocons ...

(1941– ), American political and philosophy professor *

Richard Gottfried Richard N. Gottfried (born May 16, 1947) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly representing portions of Manhattan. Gottfried had been a member of the Assembly for more than 50 years, making ...

(1947– ), American politician *

Brian Gottfried Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired American tennis player who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. He was the runner-up in singles at the 1977 French Open, won the 1975 and 1977 Fren ...

(1952– ), American tennis player *

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous r ...

(1955–2022), American comedian and actor *

Mark Gottfried Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts and three se ...

(1964– ), American basketball coach *

Keith Gottfried Keith Gottfried (born 1966 in Brooklyn, New York) is a strategic advisor to public companies and their board of directors in the areas of shareholder activism preparedness and defense. Over the course of a career that spans more than 30 years, G ...

(1966– ), American lawyer

References

{{given name, type=both German-language surnames German masculine given names Jewish surnames

Given name

Surname

See also

References