UK boy's name
Godfrey
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2018. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Godfrey is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Godfrey popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2018 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4749, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2006, with 8 births.
This profile covers 50 England and Wales registrations across 12 recorded years from 1998 to 2018. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 38% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 50 living people in the UK are called Godfrey. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2019 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Godfrey ranked #4749 for boys in England and Wales in 2018, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2006, when 8 boys were registered as Godfrey.
- • About 50 living people in the UK are estimated to have Godfrey as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4749
2018
Births in 2018
3
Latest year
Peak year
2006
8 births
Estimated living
50
2026
Meaning
What does Godfrey mean?
The name Godfrey originated in the Germanic languages and cultures. It is an Old German name derived from the words "god" and "fri," meaning "peace of God." The earliest recorded spelling was "Godefrith" in the 8th century.
Godfrey was a popular name among the Frankish nobility during the Middle Ages. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Godfrey of Bouillon (c. 1060-1100), a French nobleman who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade. He became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem after the successful conquest of the Holy Land.
Another notable Godfrey from medieval times was Godfrey the Hunchback (c. 1060-1107), Duke of Lower Lorraine. He played a significant role in the Investiture Controversy between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope.
In the 13th century, Godfrey of Viterbo (c. 1120-1191) was an Italian chronicler and historian who wrote about the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy.
During the Renaissance, Godfrey (or Gottfried) of Strasbourg (c. 1165-c. 1215) was a German poet who wrote the famous courtly romance Tristan and Isolde.
In the 17th century, Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) was a prominent German-born painter who worked in England and became the leading court painter under several monarchs.
Moving into more recent history, Godfrey Hounsfield (1919-2004) was a British electrical engineer who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work in developing the computed tomography (CT) scanner.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Godfrey over time
The chart below shows babies named Godfrey registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 to 2018. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Godfrey, the clearest high point is 2006. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2018, compared with 8 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Godfrey by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Godfrey was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | #4425 | 14 | 4 |
| 2000s | #3230 | 32 | 7 |
| 1990s | #2419 | 4 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Godfrey
- George 121,258
- Gabriel 20,581
- Grayson 7,636
- Gregory 2,925
- Guy 2,646
- Gareth 2,092
- Gethin 1,880
- Georgie 1,872
- Gary 1,575
- Gavin 1,422
- Giovanni 1,252
- Grant 1,199
FAQ
Godfrey: questions and answers
How popular is the name Godfrey in the UK right now?
In 2018, Godfrey was ranked #4749 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Godfrey most popular?
The peak year on record was 2006, with 8 babies registered as Godfrey in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Godfrey?
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "peaceful ruler".
How many people are called Godfrey in the UK?
A total of 50 babies have been registered as Godfrey across the 12 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.