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 •
Gottfried von Hagenau (died 1313), poet, theologian and medical doctor from Alsace 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. ==Surname==