Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name Godafrid, recorded since the 7th century. The name is composed of the elements god- (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with gaut) and frid- ('peace, protection').
The German name was commonly hypocoristically abbreviated as Götz from the late medieval period. Götz and variants (including Göthe, Göthke and Göpfert) also came into use as German surnames. Gottfried is a common Jewish surname as well.
See also: All pages beginning with "Gottfried".
The given name Gottfried became extremely frequent in Germany in the High Middle Ages, to the point of eclipsing most other names in God- (such as Godabert, Gotahard, Godohelm, Godomar, Goduin, Gotrat, Godulf, etc.) The name was Latinised as Godefridus. Medieval bearers of the name include:
Gotfrid, Duke of Alemannia and Raetia (d. 709)
Godefrid (d. c. 720), son of Drogo of Champagne, Frankish nobleman.
Godfrid Haraldsson (d. c. 856), Danish Viking leader
Godfrid, Duke of Frisia (d. 885), Danish Viking leader
Godfrey, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (d. 949)
Godfrey I, Duke of Lower Lorraine (d. 964)
Geoffrey I "Greymantle", Count of Anjou (d. 987)
Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1008)
Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine (d. 1023)
Geoffrey II "the Hammer", Count of Anjou (d. 1060)
Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine (d. 1069)
Godfrey of Bouillon (Godefridus Bullionensis, Godefroy de Bouillon, d. 1100), Frankish knight and leader of the First Crusade
Gottfried II of Raabs (d. c. 1137), burgrave of Nuremberg
Gottfried of Admont (d. 1165), Benedictine abbot
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (d. c. 1181)
Geoffrey of Clairvaux (d. after 1188), Cistercian abbot
Godfrey of Viterbo (Godefridus Viterbiensis, c. 1120 – c. 1196)
Geoffrey of Vinsauf (fl. 1200), medieval grammarian
Gottfried von Strassburg (d. 1210), author of a Middle High German courtly romance
Geoffrey of Villehardouin (d. c. 1212), knight and historian of the Fourth Crusade
Gottfried von Hohenlohe (1265–1310), Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
A notable early modern bearer of the name is Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716).
Gottfried remains comparatively popular in Germany, ranking in the top 200 masculine given names.
John Gottfried (1917–1980), Canadian politician
Martha Joy Gottfried (1925-2014), American landscape painter
Gesche Gottfried (1785-1831), German serial killer
Robert W. Gottfried (1926-2007), American entrepreneur
Martin Gottfried (1933-2014), American critic, columnist and author
Gilbert Gottfried (1955-), American comedian
Paul Gottfried (1941-), American political and philosophy professor
Richard Gottfried (1947-), American politician
Brian Gottfried (1952-), American tennis player
Mark Gottfried (1964-), American men's college basketball coach
Keith Gottfried (1966-), American lawyer
Dan Gottfried (1939-), Israeli jazz pianist and lawyer
Arie Gottfried
