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

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

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

s. Gottfried is also a common surname among

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

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 periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, 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.'' Cotefredus (also ''Gotfrid'' or ''Gotefrid'', modernized ''Gottfried'') (c. 650–709) was the Duke of Alamannia in the late 7th century and until his death. He was of the house of the Agilolfing, which was ...

, Duke of Alemannia and

Raetia Raetia or 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 with Transalpine ...

(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 af ...

, 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' ...

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

Godfrid, Duke of Frisia Godfrid, Godafrid, Gudfrid, or Gottfrid (; 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 Charles the Fat, ...

(d. 885), Danish Viking leader * Godfrey, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (d. 949) *

Godfrey I, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey I (born 940/945; died 964) was the count of Hainault from 958 and margrave or vice-duke of Lower Lorraine from 959, when that duchy was divided by Duke Bruno, who remained duke until his death in 964. Life Godfrey was the son of Godfre ...

(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 Duke of Brittany from 992 until his death, and also Count of Rennes (ruler of the Romano-Frankish ''civitas'' of Rennes) by right of successi ...

(d. 1008) *

Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey (or Godefrid) II (965–1023), called the Childless, son of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun (d. 1002) was the first of several members of his family to become duke of Lower Lorraine (also known as Lower Lotharingia) which roughly corresponded ...

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

Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey III ( – 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 of t ...

(d. 1069) *

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...

(''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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

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 Go ...

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

(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 ea ...

(d. after 1188), Cistercian abbot *

Godfrey of Viterbo Godfrey of Viterbo (c. 1120 – c. 1196) was a Roman Catholic chronicler, either Italian or German. From an early age he displayed great activity as one of the clergy at the court of Conrad III and later Frederick I, accompanying the latter on ma ...

(''Godefridus Viterbiensis'', c. 1120 – c. 1196) * Geoffrey of Vinsauf (fl. 1200), medieval grammarian *

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

(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 wr ...

(d. c. 1212), knight and historian of the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

* Gottfried von Hohenlohe (1265–1310), Grand Master of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

* 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 Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...

(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 Margarethe Gottfried (née Timm; 6 March 1785 – 21 April 1831), better known as Gesche Gottfried, was a German serial killer who murdered 15 people by arsenic poisoning in Bremen and Hanover between 1813 a ...

(1785–1831), German serial killer * John Gottfried (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 (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 paleocon ...

(1941– ), American political and philosophy professor * Richard Gottfried (1947– ), American politician *

Brian Gottfried Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is an American retired 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 – Men's singles, 1977 F ...

(1952– ), American tennis player *

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

(1955–2022), American comedian and actor *

Mark Gottfried Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach, basketball podcaster, and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketba ...

(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, ...

(1966– ), American lawyer

References

{{given name, type=both German-language surnames German masculine given names Masculine given names Surnames of Jewish origin

Given name

Surname

See also

References