GOODFELLOW
Recorded variant spellings include Good Fellow
Goodfellow is an English surname of pre-medieval origin that has been documented in the British Isles since at least the late twelfth century. Its earliest attested spelling is Richard Godfelage, recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland in 1192 during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart.
According to linguistic scholarship, the name derives from the Middle English godefelawe, meaning “good companion” or “friend”. Thus it falls into the class of surnames that were originally nicknames, applied to persons who were congenial, helpful or otherwise amiable. The Old English antecedent god-feolaga (literally “good companion”) is also recorded in the early medieval period and may have indicated a fellow member of a trade guild.
Folklore historians note that the surname is associated with the mythical figure of Robin Goodfellow, also known as Puck, a mischievous sprite of English balladry. For some families the name may have been adopted by analogy, or to evoke the cheerful reputation of the tale's central character.
The surname survives most commonly in the spelling Goodfellow, although earlier registers contain the variant Goodfellowe. Church records from London document the name in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries – for example, Allen Goodfellow, son of John, was christened on 12 August 1599 at St. Laurence Jewry; and on 21 October 1645 Christopher Goodfellow married Margaret Feazant at St. Christopher Le Stocks.
Today, Goodfellow is a recognised English family name that carries with it centuries of linguistic and social history, reflecting a tradition of friendly association and, for some, a cultural link to one of England’s enduring folk figures.
Typical given names associated with the Goodfellow surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Robert
- William
Female
- Anne
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Janet
- Jean
- Julie
- Laura
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Goodfellow in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 4,356 people named Goodfellow in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,156th most common surname in Britain. Around 67 in a million people in Britain are named Goodfellow.
Surname type: Nickname
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Goodfellow
- Daniel Goodfellow - Diver
- Marc Goodfellow - Football player
- Michael Goodfellow - Academic
- Ryan Goodfellow - Football player
- Michael Goodfellow - Curler
- Frederick Goodfellow - Tug of war competitor (1874 to 1960)
- Syd Goodfellow - Football player (1915 to 1)
- Benjamin Goodfellow - Philatelist (1864 to 1946)
- Herbert Goodfellow - Rugby league player (1916 to 1997)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.