Godfred
A masculine name of Old English origin meaning "peaceful ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Godfred. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Godfred today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Godfred births was 1916 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Godfred. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Godfred with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Godfred. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1916
8 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,722
Tracked since 1916
Census
Godfred in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 319 people with the first name Godfred, which placed it at #28,252 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,252
National first-name rank
People counted
319
319 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Godfred
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Godfred is Black at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Godfred described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Godfred at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.7% · 286
- White4.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
- Two or more races0.6% · 2
Popularity
Godfred: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Godfred from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Godfred remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Godfred by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Godfred during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Godfred
The name Godfred has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon and Old English languages, originating from the words "god" meaning good or god, and "frid" meaning peace or protection. It dates back to the 5th century AD, during the early medieval period in England and parts of northern Europe. The name was popular among the Anglo-Saxons and was often given to boys born into noble or royal families.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Godfred, a Danish prince who lived in the 9th century AD. He was the son of King Horik I of Denmark and played a significant role in the Viking invasions of Frisia and parts of modern-day Netherlands.
In the 11th century, Godfred of Vieux-Pont (1020-1115) was a prominent French knight and crusader who participated in the First Crusade. He is mentioned in historical accounts for his bravery and military exploits during the siege of Antioch in 1098.
Another notable figure was Godfred of Vendôme (1088-1149), a French philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on medieval scholasticism and logic. His works, particularly on the problem of universals, had a lasting impact on the development of philosophical thought in Europe.
In the 13th century, Godfred of Ghent (1215-1292) was a Flemish philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Paris. He is known for his contributions to the debates on the nature of the soul and the relationship between faith and reason.
The name Godfred also appeared in the Old English epic poem Beowulf, where it was used as the name of a Danish king. This literary reference further attests to the ancient origins and usage of the name among the Germanic tribes of northern Europe.
People
Godfred + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Godfred as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Godfred: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Godfred?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Godfred going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Godfred a common name?
We classify Godfred as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 18 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Godfred most popular?
The single biggest year for Godfred was 1916, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Godfred is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Godfred in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 319 people with the name Godfred, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,252 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Godfred in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Godfred?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Godfred appears almost entirely male. Of the 311 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Godfred?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Godfred is Black at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Godfred most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Godfred in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (286 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Godfred in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Godfred a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Godfred in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Godfred still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Godfred in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Godfred can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Godfred?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Godfred on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.