Godfrey
Godfrey was given to 10 boys in 2025, #7,846 among boys’ names; 3,245 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,450 Americans named Godfrey and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (45% of everyone recorded); the median is 54 years old and half are between 34 and 70.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Godfrey by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Godfrey mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Godfrey is “a male given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “peace of God” (Godafrid).
From Old French Godefrei, from Old High German Godafrid (“peace of God”), from Proto-Germanic *Gudafriþuz. Equivalent to god + frith. Doublet of Gottfried and Geoffrey.
/ˈɡɑdfɹi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Godfrey?
#7,846 among boys’ names, 2025
Godfrey rose from #11,152 in 2015 to #7,846 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 3.1 to 5.9 per million.
71 babies in 1918, the peak
Godfrey peaked in 1918, when 71 boys were given it, #776 among boys’ names. The 10 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | #7,846 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 7 | #10,238 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 9 | #8,471 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 10 | #7,954 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 13 | #6,444 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 12 | #6,752 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 14 | #6,202 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 10 | #7,790 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 8 | #9,124 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 8 | #9,130 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 6 | #11,152 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 13 | #6,416 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 12 | #6,746 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 16 | #5,559 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 9 | #8,293 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 11 | #7,233 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #13,126 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 12 | #6,785 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 8 | #8,993 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 12 | #6,354 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,257 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 8 | #8,099 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 13 | #5,508 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 8 | #7,789 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 8 | #7,698 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 17 | #4,210 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 15 | #4,485 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 10 | #5,786 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 18 | #3,728 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 19 | #3,468 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 15 | #4,165 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 19 | #3,414 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 13 | #4,404 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 17 | #3,512 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 23 | #2,805 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 21 | #2,930 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 19 | #2,889 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 17 | #2,990 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 15 | #3,183 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 23 | #2,319 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 15 | #3,009 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 19 | #2,523 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 23 | #2,225 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 21 | #2,370 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 23 | #2,241 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 18 | #2,621 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 19 | #2,409 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 22 | #2,151 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 23 | #2,077 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 21 | #2,158 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 13 | #2,861 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 18 | #2,257 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 30 | #1,577 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 22 | #1,945 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 23 | #1,867 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 24 | #1,702 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 20 | #1,802 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 22 | #1,680 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 21 | #1,700 | 0.01 |
| 1965 | 14 | #2,210 | 0.01 |
| 1964 | 33 | #1,375 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 31 | #1,410 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 33 | #1,376 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 40 | #1,254 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 31 | #1,444 | 0.01 |
| 1959 | 34 | #1,345 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 43 | #1,178 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 35 | #1,325 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 37 | #1,266 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 39 | #1,203 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 34 | #1,298 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 40 | #1,175 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 34 | #1,279 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 37 | #1,202 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 39 | #1,146 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 41 | #1,098 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 55 | #936 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 54 | #971 | 0.03 |
| 1946 | 39 | #1,116 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 31 | #1,190 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 29 | #1,243 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 33 | #1,194 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 31 | #1,258 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 19 | #1,609 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 37 | #1,076 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 30 | #1,205 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 32 | #1,153 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 23 | #1,425 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 29 | #1,236 | 0.03 |
| 1935 | 28 | #1,281 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 29 | #1,254 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 19 | #1,611 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 33 | #1,188 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 41 | #1,053 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 35 | #1,203 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 37 | #1,145 | 0.03 |
| 1928 | 38 | #1,151 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 48 | #1,016 | 0.04 |
| 1926 | 53 | #937 | 0.05 |
| 1925 | 48 | #990 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 41 | #1,126 | 0.04 |
| 1923 | 56 | #919 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 35 | #1,231 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 55 | #950 | 0.05 |
| 1920 | 57 | #918 | 0.05 |
| 1919 | 53 | #921 | 0.05 |
| 1918 | 71 | #776 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 61 | #812 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 38 | #1,049 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 46 | #919 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 39 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1913 | 31 | #887 | 0.06 |
| 1912 | 34 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1911 | 11 | #1,070 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,005 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 11 | #916 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 6 | #1,282 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,036 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 14 | #657 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 13 | #680 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 12 | #703 | 0.09 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,192 | 0.04 |
| 1902 | 6 | #1,062 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 10 | #866 | 0.07 |
| 1899 | 9 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1898 | 11 | #678 | 0.09 |
| 1897 | 9 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1896 | 9 | #796 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 10 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 6 | #1,004 | 0.05 |
| 1893 | 9 | #725 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 7 | #893 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 9 | #693 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 6 | #920 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 13 | #566 | 0.11 |
| 1887 | 8 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1886 | 10 | #620 | 0.09 |
| 1885 | 10 | #617 | 0.09 |
| 1884 | 9 | #678 | 0.08 |
| 1883 | 10 | #613 | 0.10 |
| 1881 | 9 | #622 | 0.09 |
| 1880 | 9 | #654 | 0.08 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Godfrey a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Godfrey has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 142 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Godfrey: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Godfrey, and how old are they?
1,450 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 45% of the 3,245 Americans ever recorded as Godfrey. The median Godfrey alive today is 54 years old; half are between 34 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 2,800 people named Godfrey (21 women and girls, 2,779 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,567 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 103 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 473 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 294 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 282 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 161 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 131 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Godfrey born?
The states with the most babies named Godfrey are New York, Louisiana and California, with 69% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 169 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 78 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 43 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 24 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Alabama | 16 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Florida | 16 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| Texas | 16 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Michigan | 15 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Virginia | 10 | not ranked | 0.1× |
| Kentucky | 9 | not ranked | 0.1× |
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Godfrey with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Godfrey
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Godfrey and names like it
- Compare Godfrey and EmileBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sGodfrey peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Godfrey since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Godfrey: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Godfrey.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Godfrey alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with GMost given first.