NameCensus.

UK surname

Godwin

Derived from the Old English personal name "Godwine," meaning "friend of God" or "good friend."

In the 1881 census there were 3,868 people recorded with the Godwin surname, ranking it #1,178 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 5,161, ranked #1,311, down from #1,178 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Stafford St Mary and St Chad, Tillington. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wiltshire, Cotswold and Bromsgrove.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Godwin is 5,344 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 33.4%.

1881 census count

3,868

Ranked #1,178

Modern count

5,161

2016, ranked #1,311

Peak year

2002

5,344 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Godwin had 3,868 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,178 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 5,161 in 2016, ranked #1,311.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 5,338 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Godwin surname distribution map

The map shows where the Godwin surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Godwin surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Godwin over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 2,903 #1,000
1861 historical 2,922 #985
1881 historical 3,868 #1,178
1891 historical 4,287 #1,111
1901 historical 4,747 #1,190
1911 historical 5,338 #978
1997 modern 4,989 #1,314
1998 modern 5,310 #1,282
1999 modern 5,317 #1,292
2000 modern 5,301 #1,284
2001 modern 5,158 #1,285
2002 modern 5,344 #1,270
2003 modern 5,215 #1,268
2004 modern 5,221 #1,263
2005 modern 5,120 #1,273
2006 modern 5,092 #1,284
2007 modern 5,120 #1,290
2008 modern 5,139 #1,295
2009 modern 5,213 #1,306
2010 modern 5,272 #1,318
2011 modern 5,229 #1,311
2012 modern 5,103 #1,312
2013 modern 5,216 #1,313
2014 modern 5,229 #1,312
2015 modern 5,172 #1,312
2016 modern 5,161 #1,311

Geography

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Where Godwins are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Stafford St Mary and St Chad, Tillington and Portsmouth, Portsea. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wiltshire, Cotswold, Bromsgrove and Test Valley. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 Stafford St Mary and St Chad, Tillington Staffordshire
5 Portsmouth, Portsea Hampshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wiltshire 015 Wiltshire
2 Cotswold 005 Cotswold
3 Cotswold 009 Cotswold
4 Bromsgrove 010 Bromsgrove
5 Test Valley 013 Test Valley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Godwin

These lists show first names that appear often with the Godwin surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Godwin

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Godwin, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Godwin surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Godwin household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Godwin is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Godwin is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Godwin falls in decile 10 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

10
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Godwin is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Godwin, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Godwin

The surname Godwin is of Old English origin, derived from the personal name Godwine, which means "friend of God" or "divine friend." It is believed to have originated in the 9th or 10th century in the counties of Somerset and Dorset in southwestern England.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Godwine, Earl of Wessex, who lived from around 990 to 1053. He was a powerful Anglo-Saxon nobleman and the father of King Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England before the Norman Conquest.

The name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Several individuals with the surname Godwin or variations such as Godwine and Godwyne are recorded in this historic document.

Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Godwin, a 16th-century English bishop and theologian, who lived from around 1517 to 1590. He served as Bishop of Bath and Wells and was an influential figure in the English Reformation.

In the 17th century, Mary Godwin, later known as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was born in 1797. She was an English novelist and is best known as the author of the iconic novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus."

William Godwin, born in 1756 and died in 1836, was a renowned English philosopher, political theorist, and novelist. He was an influential figure in the Romantic period and is considered one of the founders of philosophical anarchism.

During the 19th century, Parke Godwin, an American journalist and author, lived from 1816 to 1904. He is best known for his biographies of prominent figures such as William Cullen Bryant and his historical novels set during the American Revolution.

The surname Godwin has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Godwin's Croft, Godwinscroft, and Godwinstre, which may have influenced the surname's development and spread across different regions.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Godwin families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Godwin surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 500 Godwins recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.32x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 500 1.32x
Gloucestershire 455 6.14x
Wiltshire 398 11.91x
Staffordshire 332 2.60x
Hampshire 317 4.09x
Surrey 289 1.57x
Lancashire 174 0.39x
Warwickshire 173 1.81x
Berkshire 150 5.29x
Somerset 135 2.22x
Cheshire 117 1.40x
Oxfordshire 95 4.07x
Kent 79 0.61x
Herefordshire 63 4.06x
Essex 60 0.80x
Monmouthshire 57 2.09x
Dorset 56 2.26x
Worcestershire 55 1.11x
Leicestershire 47 1.12x
Glamorgan 40 0.61x
Yorkshire 39 0.10x
Hertfordshire 38 1.46x
Sussex 36 0.56x
Lincolnshire 27 0.45x
Derbyshire 26 0.44x
Shropshire 14 0.43x
Nottinghamshire 13 0.26x
Suffolk 12 0.26x
Devon 9 0.11x
Northamptonshire 9 0.25x
Buckinghamshire 8 0.35x
Cambridgeshire 5 0.21x
Huntingdonshire 5 0.67x
Norfolk 5 0.09x
Pembrokeshire 5 0.42x
Anglesey 4 0.60x
Midlothian 4 0.08x
Dumfriesshire 3 0.36x
Lanarkshire 3 0.02x
Montgomeryshire 3 0.35x
Denbighshire 2 0.14x
Flintshire 2 0.20x
Royal Navy 2 0.44x
Ayrshire 1 0.04x
Cornwall 1 0.02x
Cumberland 1 0.03x
Durham 1 0.01x
Isle of Man 1 0.14x
Renfrewshire 1 0.03x
Selkirkshire 1 0.29x
West Lothian 1 0.18x
Wigtownshire 1 0.20x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Aston in Warwickshire leads with 96 Godwins recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.66x.

Place Total Index
Aston 96 3.66x
Stafford St Mary 73 40.42x
Birmingham 68 2.14x
Battersea 65 4.67x
Cheltenham 60 10.49x
St Marylebone London 60 2.97x
Kensington London 42 2.00x
Wolverhampton 41 4.18x
Stoke Upon Trent 40 2.96x
Islington London 36 0.98x
St Pancras London 36 1.18x
Camberwell 34 1.41x
Bethnal Green London 33 2.01x
Rodbourne Cheney 33 127.86x
Lambeth 30 0.91x
Shoreditch London 29 1.77x
Portsea 28 1.84x
Hackney London 26 1.23x
Ashton Keynes 24 193.08x
Clerkenwell London 24 2.69x
Croydon 24 2.35x
Minchinhampton 23 38.94x
Reading St Mary 23 10.12x
Hammersmith London 21 2.26x
Leek Lowe 21 12.37x
Swindon 21 8.10x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 20 2.87x
Paddington London 20 1.44x
Bishopstoke 19 95.53x
Dorking 19 15.36x
Liscard 19 12.64x
Bristol St George 18 5.25x
Burton Upon Trent 18 6.03x
Heaton Norris 18 7.05x
West Ham 18 1.09x
Westbury On Trym 18 7.17x
Bradford On Avon 17 15.88x
Lyneham 17 130.07x
Droxford 16 54.11x
Fonthill Gifford 16 258.90x
Lugwardine 16 163.10x
Nettlebed 16 186.48x
Tichborne 16 370.37x
Bromley London 15 1.80x
Downton 15 34.29x
Highworth 15 35.10x
Poplar London 15 2.10x
Roath 15 5.02x
Rotherhithe 15 3.21x
South Stoneham 15 8.92x
Thornbury 15 29.60x
Trevethin 15 5.81x
Withington 15 148.08x
Bedminster 14 2.45x
Blackburn 14 1.17x
Chipping Sodbury 14 101.30x
Drayton In Hales 14 20.80x
Birkenhead 13 1.95x
Cannock 13 5.84x
Handsworth 13 4.13x
Moreton 13 163.32x
Rodborough 13 36.31x
Salford 13 0.99x
Salisbury St Edmund 13 24.23x
Walcot 13 4.01x
Armitage 12 72.25x
Buckland 12 128.21x
Deptford St Paul 12 1.21x
Langford 12 241.45x
Lechlade 12 78.84x
Macclesfield 12 3.24x
Mavesyn Ridware 12 196.08x
Monkton Farleigh 12 221.40x
Rothley 12 88.11x
Sevenoaks 12 11.48x
Woolwich 12 2.52x
Fareham 11 11.81x
Gillingham 11 25.80x
Sutton Veney 11 117.15x
Tipton 11 2.82x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Godwin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 232
Elizabeth 165
Sarah 149
Annie 79
Jane 78
Ann 69
Ellen 69
Eliza 66
Emma 62
Emily 61
Alice 55
Florence 35
Fanny 33
Louisa 32
Charlotte 31
Martha 28
Harriet 25
Ada 24
Maria 22
Edith 21
Lucy 21
Harriett 19
Susan 18
Clara 17
Caroline 16
Matilda 16
Kate 15
Rose 15
Hannah 14
Catherine 13
Frances 13
Agnes 12
Anne 12
Esther 12
Julia 11
Margaret 11
Anna 10
Minnie 10
Rebecca 10
Henrietta 9
Amelia 8
Amy 8
Elizth. 8
Gertrude 8
Rosa 8
Selina 8
Sophia 8
Jessie 7
Rhoda 7
Ruth 7

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Godwin surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 238
John 191
George 151
Thomas 127
James 113
Charles 103
Henry 88
Arthur 50
Alfred 46
Frederick 45
Joseph 42
Albert 39
Edward 39
Richard 35
Frank 30
Walter 27
Harry 25
Ernest 22
Edwin 20
Herbert 18
Samuel 18
Benjamin 16
Robert 15
Francis 14
Wm. 11
Thos. 10
Fredrick 9
David 8
Sidney 8
Harold 7
Philip 7
Chas. 6
Fred 6
Isaac 6
Geo. 5
Henery 5
Horace 5
Tom 5
Abraham 4
Alexander 4
Charlie 4
Daniel 4
Edmund 4
Ralph 4
Shadrach 4
Wilfred 4
Hubert 3
Jno. 3
Phillip 3
Silas 3

FAQ

Godwin surname: questions and answers

How common was the Godwin surname in 1881?

In 1881, 3,868 people were recorded with the Godwin surname. That placed it at #1,178 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Godwin surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 5,161 in 2016. That gives Godwin a modern rank of #1,311.

What does the Godwin surname mean?

Derived from the Old English personal name "Godwine," meaning "friend of God" or "good friend."

What does the Godwin map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Godwin bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.