Griffith is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

origin which derives from the given name

Gruffudd Gruffudd or Gruffydd ( or , in either case) is a Welsh name, originating in Old Welsh as a given name and today used as both a given and surname. It is the origin of the Anglicised name '' Griffith[s]'', and was historically sometimes treate ...

. The prefix ''Griff'' (originally ''Gruff'') may mean "strong grip" and the suffix, ''udd'', means "chief"/"lord". The earliest recorded example of the surname was "Gryffyth" in 1295, but the given name is older. People with the surname or its variants include:

List of people surnamed Griffith

A–H

Alan Arnold Griffith Alan Arnold Griffith (13 June 1893 – 13 October 1963), son of Victorian science fiction writer George Griffith, was an English engineer. Among many other contributions he is best known for his work on stress and fracture in metals that is no ...

, British engineer specializing in fracture mechanics and aircraft gas turbine engines *

Anastasia Griffith Anastasia Griffith (born 23 March 1978) is a British actress known for her roles on the FX legal drama ''Damages'' and the NBC medical series ''Trauma''. She has also acted in films and a video game. Early life and education Born in Paris, Fra ...

, British actress *

Andrew Griffith Andrew Griffith (born 23 February 1971) is a British politician and former senior media executive who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and South Downs since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been serving as Econo ...

, (born 1971) British Conservative politician *

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...

(1926–2012), American actor, writer and producer * Anthony Griffith, English-born Montserrat international football player *

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...

, Irish Republican leader *

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited to ...

, (born 1944), American cartoonist * Charles Griffith (disambiguation), various people *

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

, baseball player, manager, executive, and member of the Hall of Fame * Claudia Griffith (1950–2018), American politician *

Corinne Griffith Corinne Griffith (née Griffin; November 21, 1894 – July 13, 1979) was an American film actress, producer, author and businesswoman. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen," she was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of the ...

, silent film era actress and author * D. W. Griffith, American film director * Dan Griffith (born 1987), American DJ known as Gryffin *

Edward Griffith (zoologist) Edward Griffith (1790–1858) was a British natural history, naturalist and solicitor. He wrote ''General and Particular Descriptions of the Vertebrated Animals'' (1821) and translated Georges Cuvier's ''Règne animal'', making considerable addit ...

, British naturalist *

Edward H. Griffith Edward H. Griffith (August 23, 1888 – March 3, 1975)F ...

(1894–1975), American film director *

Elisabeth Griffith Elisabeth Griffith is an American historian, educator, and activist. She is the author of ''Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920–2020'', and ''In Her Own Right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton''. Early in her career, ...

, American historian, educator, and activist *

Emile Griffith Emile Alphonse Griffith (February 3, 1938 – July 23, 2013) was a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight, undisputed welterweight, and middleweight t ...

(1938–2013), U.S. Virgin Islands boxer * Eva Kinney Griffith (1852–1918), American journalist, temperance activist *

Forrest Griffith Forrest Martin Griffith (February 15, 1928 – December 12, 2007) was an American football halfback who played two seasons with the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the 19 ...

(1928–2007), American football player *

Francis Llewellyn Griffith Francis Llewellyn Griffith (27 May 1862 – 14 March 1934) was an eminent British Egyptologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life and education F. Ll. Griffith was born in Brighton on 27 May 1862 where his father, Rev. Dr. ...

(1862–1934), British Egyptologist *

Frank Kingsley Griffith Frank Kingsley Griffith (23 December 1889 – 25 September 1962) was a British Liberal Party politician, barrister and County Court judge. Early life Griffith was born in Upper Norwood, Surrey, the son of an officer in the Volunteer Force who ...

, British Liberal politician and judge *

Frederick Griffith (disambiguation) Frederick Griffith (c.1879–1941) was a British bacteriologist. Frederick Griffith may also refer to: * Frederick W. Griffith (1858–1928), New York politician * Fred Griffith (actor) (born 1964), American actor * Fred Griffith (TV personality) ( ...

, multiple people *

George Griffith George Griffith (1857–1906), full name George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazin ...

, writer *

Grace Griffith Grace Bernadette Griffith (née Sisson; October 30, 1956 – June 5, 2021) was a folk and Celtic singer based in Washington, D.C. She has been honored with multiple Wammie awards by the Washington Area Music Association. In 1998, she was diagnose ...

, American folk singer *

Griffith J. Griffith Griffith Jenkins Griffith (January 4, 1850 – July 6, 1919) was a Welsh-born American industrialist and philanthropist. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith donated to the City of Los Angeles wh ...

, Welsh-American industrialist known for donating land for Griffith Park in Los Angeles *

Harold Griffith Harold Randall Griffith (July 25, 1894 – 1985) was a Canadian anesthesiologist and a leader in the fields of anesthesiology. History Griffith was born in Montreal the son of Alexander Randall Griffith, a medical doctor and homeopathic pract ...

(1894–1985), Canadian anaesthetist *

Hugh Griffith Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh film, stage, and television actor. He is best remembered for his role in the film '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), which earned him critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Acto ...

, Welsh actor

J–Z

James Bray Griffith James Bray Griffith (1871 - Jan 1, 1937) was an American business theorist, and head of Department of Commerce, Accountancy, and Business Administration at the American School of Correspondence in Chicago, known as early systematizer of management. ...

(1871–1937), American business theorist *

Jamie Bamber Jamie Saint John Bamber Griffith (born 3 April 1973), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series '' Law & Order: ...

, born Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith, British actor *

Jason Griffith Jason Adam Griffith is an American voice actor, known for his voice over work for NYAV Post, 4Kids Entertainment and DuArt Film and Video. He is best known as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog in the English dub of ''Sonic ...

, American voice actor who is the former voice of

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...

* John Griffith (disambiguation), multiple people * Jonas Griffith (born 1997), American football player *

Justin Griffith Justin Montrel Griffith (born July 21, 1980) is a former Fullback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State. Griffith has a ...

, NFL fullback who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders *

Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...

, Welsh actor and documentary film maker *

Laetitia Griffith Laetitia Juliëtte Griffith (born 1 November 1965) is a retired Surinamese–born Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and jurist. Career Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Griffith moved to the Netherlands in 198 ...

(born 1965), Dutch politician * Lillian Griffith (1877–1972) Welsh artist and sculptor * Manley Griffith, American actor better known as

Griff Barnett Griff Barnett (born Manley Griffith, November 12, 1884 – January 12, 1958) was an American actor.(17 January 1958) ''The New York Times'' Barnett was born in Blue Ridge, Texas in 1884. In the early 20th century, Barnett was a member of the ...

* Mari Griffith, Welsh radio announcer and writer *

Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...

(born 1957), American actress * Michael Griffith (disambiguation) *

Morgan Griffith Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the U.S. representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. The district covers a large swath of southwestern Virginia, including the ...

, American politician from Virginia *

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award fo ...

(1953–2021), American singer, guitarist and songwriter *

Nicola Griffith Nicola Griffith (; born 30 September 1960) is a British-American novelist, essayist, and teacher. She has won the Washington State Book Award, Nebula Award, James Tiptree, Jr. Award, World Fantasy Award and six Lambda Literary Awards. Persona ...

, British author *

Nathaniel Griffith Lerotholi Nathaniel Griffith Lerotholi (1870 – 23 June 1939) was the paramount chief of Basutoland from 11 April 1913 when he succeeded his brother Letsie II until his death in 1939. He was succeeded by his son Simon Seeiso Griffith Seeiso, full name Sim ...

, the fifth Paramount Chief of Lesotho * Peter Griffith (1933–2001), American actor *

Phillip Griffith Phillip Alan Griffith (born December 29, 1940) is a mathematician and professor emeritus at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who works on commutative algebra and ring theory. He received his PhD from the University of Houston in 1968. ...

, mathematician *

Ralph T. H. Griffith Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (1826–1906) was an English Indologist, a member of the Indian education service and among the first Europeans to translate the Vedas into English. He lived in the UK (Oxford) and in India (Benares and Nilgiris). ...

, Indologist * Ronald H. Griffith, former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army *

Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and t ...

, Australian politician and jurist who had a large part in composing the Constitution of Australia *

Samuel B. Griffith Brigadier General Samuel Blair Griffith II (May 31, 1906 – March 27, 1983) was an officer and commander in the United States Marine Corps. Griffith entered the Marines in 1929 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. He served ...

, officer and commander in the United States Marine Corps *

Thomas B. Griffith Thomas Beall Griffith (born July 5, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who was a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2020. Griffith was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal o ...

, American federal judge *

Thomas Ian Griffith Thomas Ian Griffith (born March 18, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for portraying Terry Silver in the 1989 film ''The Karate Kid Part III'', a role he reprised in the fourth and fifth seasons of the television ...

, American actor *

Virgil Griffith Virgil Griffith (born 1983), also known as Romanpoet, is an American programmer. He worked extensively on the Ethereum cryptocurrency platform, designed the Tor2web proxy along with Aaron Swartz, and created the Wikipedia indexing tool WikiScan ...

, American hacker *

Welborn Griffith Welborn Barton Griffith Jr. (November 19, 1901 – August 16, 1944) was an American officer who served during World War II in the United States Army. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the Class of 1925. Colonel Griffi ...

, American soldier * William Griffith (1810–1845), British doctor, naturalist, and botanist *

Xiomara Griffith Xiomara Yolanda Griffith Mahon (born September 13, 1969) is a female judoka from Venezuela. She competed for her native South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphe ...

, Venezuelan judoka

References

{{surname, Griffith Surnames English-language surnames Surnames of Welsh origin Anglicised Welsh-language surnames

List of people surnamed Griffith

A–H

J–Z

See also

References