Find out how popular the last name Godby is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Godby.

Godby, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Godby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Godby in America

Godby is the 17135th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Godby surname appeared 1,654 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Godby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Godby to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Godby

The surname Godby is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the county of Lincolnshire, derived from the Old Norse personal name Guðbjartr, which means "bright or shining for God." This name was likely brought to England by Norse settlers during the Viking Age.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Godby can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where it appears as "Godby." This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 12th century.

The Godby surname is also closely associated with the village of Godby, located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This place name, which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, is thought to have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name Godby was Richard de Godby, a prominent landowner and knight who lived in Lincolnshire. He is mentioned in several historical records from the period, including the Feet of Fines for Lincolnshire in 1245.

During the 14th century, the Godby surname can be found in various records, such as the Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a John Godby is listed as residing in the village of Godby in Yorkshire.

In the 16th century, a prominent individual with the Godby surname was William Godby, a merchant and alderman of the city of London. He was born in 1520 and served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1587.

Another notable figure was Sir Henry Godby, a Member of Parliament for the borough of Taunton in Somerset during the 17th century. He was born in 1602 and played a significant role in the English Civil War, supporting the Parliamentarian cause.

In the 18th century, the Godby surname gained recognition through the work of William Godby, an English painter and engraver who was born in 1760 and is known for his landscapes and portraits.

Throughout the centuries, the Godby surname has also been recorded with various spellings, such as Godbie, Godbye, and Godebye, reflecting the regional variations and phonetic adaptations that were common in earlier times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Godby

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Godby.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Godby was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Godby has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Godby was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Godby, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!