Given name & surname
Gottfried
“God is peace”
Gottfried is a variant of Godfrey. One German interpretation is “God is peace.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Gottfried is a variant of Godfrey. One German interpretation is “God is peace.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Gottfried is a variant of Godfrey. An origin associated with Godfrey is German.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In German use, Gottfried is used as a form of Godfrey.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Gottfried is a variant of Godfrey. The history of Godfrey gives this family its wider story. Godfrey was in use during the Middle Ages.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Gottfried through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 115
- 115 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 12 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1938. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 12 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 193 as a first name in 2020; 2,099 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gottfried’s family of names
Gottfried has an affectionate form in Götz. Gottfried shares a linguistic root with Godfrey. In German usage, Gottfried has a conventional equivalent in the English form Jeffrey.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gottfried has relatives in 28 languages.
45 related names in 28 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 52
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- JeffreyEnglish
- JefferyEnglish
- GeoffreyEnglish
- JeffryEnglish
- Geoffequivalent
- GodofredoPortuguese, Spanish
- GottfredSwedish
- GeffreyFrench, English
Show 44 moreShow fewer
- JeoffreyFrench
- JoffreyFrench
- GodfredDanish
- Galfridusequivalent
- Jofréequivalent
- Gioffreequivalent
- Guðfríðurequivalent
- Gootjeequivalent
- Jofreequivalent
- Gotfredoequivalent
- Godefridusequivalent
- BogumirPolish
- Götzederivative · German
- GodfrydPolish
- GoffredoItalian
- GodefroyFrench
- גאָטפֿרידYiddish
- גוטפרידHebrew
- 戈特弗里德Mandarin
- SieffreWelsh
- BohumírCzech, Slovak
- Bohuměrwen
- BogomirSlovene, Croatian
- БогомирSerbo-Croatian, Serbian
- Gottfridalso known as · Swedish
- GotfriedSwedish
- GodtfredSwedish
- GoraidhScottish Gaelic
- BogumiłPolish
- Bügumirpox
- GevertDutch
- GovertDutch
- GodfriedDutch
- GiuffridoItalian
- GolfredoItalian
- GottfreðIcelandic
- SiothrúnIrish
- SéafraIrish
- GofraidhIrish
- GeoffroyFrench
- GeoffroiFrench
- KotfriFinnish
- TheofreyEnglish
- GotfredDanish
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Gottfried
- Gottfried Wilhelm LeibnizGerman mathematician and philosopher (1646–1716)
- Godfrey of BouillonMedieval Frankish knight1060–1100
- Gottfried KellerSwiss poet and writer of German literature (1819–1890)
- Geoffrey V of AnjouDuke of Normandy1113–1151
- Gottfried BennGerman physician, poet, and essayist (1886–1956)
- Gottfried August BürgerGerman poet (1747-1794)
- Gottfried von Strassburgmedieval German poet1180–1215
- Gottfried BöhmGerman architect (1920-2021)
- Gottfried SemperGerman architect (1803–1879)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Gottfried, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gerrit
“one who is mighty with a spear”
>99% boys
Gaston
“a man from Gascony”
>99% boys
Odie
“a sweet melody” · “one who is wealthy”
>99% boys
Gustav
“of the staff of the gods”
>99% boys
Gardner
“one who works the earth” · “the keeper of the garden”
97% boys · 3% girls
Wilfred
“one who wishes for peace”
>99% boys
Ottis
“a wealthy man” · “one who is acute”
>99% boys
Rowland
“from the renowned land”
>99% boys