Surname Gottfryd - Meaning and Origin
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Gottfryd: What does the surname Gottfryd mean?
The surname Gottfryd is of German origin and is believed to be derived from the Old German name Gotfrid, which derives from the words "god" and "fridu", meaning “peace of God”. This suggests that the original bearer of the name may have been a person of great faith and spirituality.
The name can be found all over Europe but is most commonly found in German-speaking countries such as Germany, where it is one of the more popular surnames.
Gottfryd can trace its roots back to a very long and respected heritage. It is likely to be associated with wealthy and powerful families, particularly those that had authority within the clergy or politics. But even outside of royalty or powerful families, it likely would have identified a person who was prosperous and potentially of high social standing in local society. A person of such a distinguished family name would have been one to be respected and thus luminous in their social circles.
The surname still exists today and has become more diverse as it has spread across the globe. It might now refer to someone of European background or even having mixed origins, where different cultures have blended with the original German root.
Today, Gottfryd is still a name associated with honor and respect, and someone of this name or even bearing its legacy is likely to be a person of well-established values and strong faith.
Order DNA origin analysisGottfryd: Where does the name Gottfryd come from?
Gottfryd is an uncommon surname, and can be most commonly found in places where German people have settled, such as the United States, Canada, and other parts of Europe.
In the United States, Gottfryd can be found most commonly in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and in other parts of Europe such as Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary. Gottfryds can also be found in Canada, particularly in Ontario and Alberta.
As of the 2000 United States census, Gottfryd was the 5,100th most common family name in the United States, and it was estimated that there were 1,081 people in the United States with this name. It was estimated that the percentage of people with this name was 0.001%.
In Germany, it is estimated that the surname is held by about 5,000 people, with most of them living in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
In Germany, the spelling of Gottfryd is most commonly Göttfrid, and the name is also found in Sweden and Finland, although the spelling is different in German-speaking countries.
In Austria, Gottfryd is rarely encountered, but it is found in some Bavarian family trees.
In Canada, Gottfryd is not very common either, and there are only a handful of families with this name recorded there. Records indicate that the earliest instance of the Gottfryd surname in Canada was a Gottfryd Widmann, who immigrated to Canada in 1889.
Overall, Gottfryd is not a widely spread surname today, although it can be found in a few places where German people have settled.
Variations of the surname Gottfryd
Gottfryd is a German surname which is derived from the personal name Godfrey, composed of the Germanic elements “goda”, meaning “God” and “frida”, meaning “peace”. The name is also a form of the French medieval name Godefroy, which is a combination of the Old German name Godafrid, composed of the elements “god”, meaning “God”, and “frido”, meaning "peace".
The variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin for the surname Gottfryd include Gotfreed, Gotofred, Gotfrid, Guttfrid, Gotfried, Gittfrid, Gottfriid, Gottfriey, Gottfreid, Gotifrid, Gotfridi, Gothfrid, Gudfrid, Gotefrid and Gotifried.
The surname Gottfryd is also commonly found in its shortened forms, such as Gottfry, Gottfrye, Gottfrei and Gottfre, as well as in more modern German forms, such as Gotthard, Gotthardt, Godthardt, Godhard, Godhardt and Godhardts.
In its more anglicized form, the surname is spelled variously as Godfrey, Godfry, Godfree, Godfroy or Godfre.
In France, the name is spelled as Godefroy, while in Dutch it is often written as Godefried, Godfried or Godfrid.
In Scandinavia, the surname has been found in its traditional local forms such as Gotefri, Gotfred, Gottfrid, Guttfrid, Gudfrid, Godefrid and Godefried, as well as in adopted Scandinavian forms such as Gottfrid and Gutfrid. In Poland and Hungary, variants of the name are Ggatfryd and Gotfríd, respectively.
In English, the surname has often been found as Godfry or Godfree, while in Scotland it may be spelled as Godfrie or Guthfrie.
Famous people with the name Gottfryd
- Zbignev Gorfryd: Polish film director
- David Gottfryd: American author and mental health advocate
- Jacek Gottfryd: Polish composer, conductor and teacher
- Jeremy Gottfryd: Scottish actor
- Monika Gottfryd: Polish voice actress
- Rafał Gottfryd: Polish screenwriter
- Lukasz Gottfryd: Polish director
- Grazyna Gottfryd: Polish actress
- Piotr Gottfryd: Polish actor
- Zbignev Gottfryd: Polish composer