Godwin Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Godwin Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Godwin

The ancient history of the name Godwin was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Godwin is a name of great antiquity meaning 'good friend'. Variants include Goodwin, Godwyn and Goodwyn. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland , Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Lucas Godwin of Cambridge and an Alice Godewin of Oxford who were both recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England , in the year 1273. A Willemus Godewyn was recorded in the 'Poll Tax', of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379. In Scotland the name is found in the Shires of Ayr, Lanark, and Stirling. A Mr. Godwin who was 'Camerarius of the Bishop' witnessed a quitclaim by Robert, Bishop of Saint Andrews, in the year 1127. The 'Goodwin Sands' is a ten-mile sandbank in the English Channel that received its title from Godwin, Earl of Wessex to whom the territory belonged. In Ireland the name is found in Ulster having been introduced there from England centuries ago. Goodwin is also an occasional variant of the names McGoldrick and McGuigan in County Tyrone, and exists in County Mayo as an anglicized form of the Gaelic O'Goidin.