Geoffrey is an English masculine given name. It is generally considered the Anglo-Norman form of the Germanic compound 'god' and 'peace'. It is a derivative of Dutch Godfried, German

Gottfried Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century, and composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for "God" and "good", and possibly further conflated with ) and ("pe ...

and Old English Gotfrith and Godfrith. Alexander Macbain considered it as being found in the Gaelic and Welsh forms; potentially before or contemporary to the Anglo-Saxon, with the examples of Goraidh, Middle Gaelic Gofraig (1467 MS.), Godfrey (do.), Irish Gofraidh (F.M.), Middle Irish Gothfrith, Gofraig (Tigernach, 989), Early Irish Gothfraid (Lib. Lein.), E. Welsh Gothrit (Ann. Camb.). Macbain suggested these Celtic forms of the name were closer related to the Anglo-Saxon Godefrid than the Norse Goðröðr, Gudrød or Góröðr; however he does not elaborate further on the origin or relation. It was also

Anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as Jeffrey later. Popularity of the name declined after the medieval period, but it was revived in modern England and the British Empire at large. Modern

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...

s include Geoff and Jeff. Jeffrey and its variants are found as surnames, usually ending in -s (e.g. Jefferies, Jaffrays); the surname Jefferson is a patronymic version of the given name.

Etymology

The

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

form of the name was ''Geoffrei'' , which developed into West Middle French ''Geoffrey'' and East Middle French ''Geoffroy''. Latinisation of names, Latinised forms include ''Jotfredus'', ''Jozsfredus'', ''Josfredus'' (10th century) and ''Jof[f]redus'', ''Jofridus'', ''Jaufredus'', ''Geffredus'' (11th century). The original spelling with ''Jo-'' was modified in ''Geo-''. The graphic ''e'' after ''G'' is used in French to avoid the pronunciation , but instead. The spelling ''Geo-'' is probably due to the influence of the first name '' Georges'', derived from Old French ''Jorre'', ''Joire''. The

Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 10th centuries. Franks under king Chlodio settled in Roman Gaul in the 5th century. O ...

name ''Godefrid'' itself is from the Germanic elements ''god-'' and '' frid-''. The

Middle Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidia and Africa Proconsularis under the Vandals ...

form is ''Godefridus'' (whence also '' Godfrey''). The second element is widely used in

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

s, and has a meaning of "peace, protection". The first element ''god-'' is conflated from two, or possibly three, distinct roots, ie ''got'' and possibly '' *gaut'', in origin a tribal name (

Geats The Geats ( ; ; ; ), sometimes called ''Geats#Goths, Goths'', were a large North Germanic peoples, North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of ...

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

) or a theonym (a byname of Wotan). Albert Dauzat (1951, rev. ed. 1980) followed by others, argued that the Middle French name ''Geoffrey'' retains a distinction between two Germanic names which became conflated in the Middle Ages. According to this argument, ''Godfrey'' continues ''*goda-friþu-'', while ''Geoffroy'' continues ''*gaut-friþu-''. If a strictly phonetic development is assumed, ''Geoffrey'' cannot be derived from ''Godfrid'', as ''*go-'' would result in Old French ''go-'' and not ''geo-'' (''jo-'', ), ie ''goda-fridu'' would yield ''Godefroy'' but not ''Geoffroy''. On the other hand, ''*gau-'' would regularly result in ''jo-'' (''geo-'' ),for example,

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

''*gauta'' gave Old French ''jöe'' and Modern French ''joue'' "cheek", and Latin ''gaudia'' gave French ''joie'' "joy". . In the

history of the French language French language, French is a Romance languages, Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin) that specifically is classified under the Gallo-Romance languages. The discussion of the history of a language is typi ...

, there is a regular palatalisation of > > , before , , , , but not before , , where was maintained. i.e ''*gaut-fridu-'' would regularly result in ''Geoffroy'' . Alternative suggestions which would derive the first element from Germanic ''gisal-'' 'hostage', or '' w(e)alah'' 'Gallo-Roman; stranger' are also rejected by Dauzat as phonetically impossible: ''gi'' would have resulted in Old French (Modern French ), as in ''Gisalbert'' > '' Gilbert'' (ie ''*Gisalfrid'' > ''*Giffrey''), and ''*w(e)alh-'' would have resulted in ''*gaul-'' (ie ''*Wealhfrid'' > ''*Gaulfrey'', ''*Gauffrey'').

People named Geoffrey or Geoffroy

Middle Ages

Rulers

* Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou (died 987) *

Geoffrey II, Count of Anjou Geoffrey II, called Martel (1006 – 14 November 1060), son of Fulk the Black, was a French knight and Count of Anjou from 1040 to 1060 and Count of Vendôme from 1032 to 1056. He fought battles against William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, Theob ...

(died 1060) * Geoffrey III, Count of Anjou (died 1096) * Geoffrey IV, Count of Anjou (died 1106) *

Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Fair (), Plantagenet, and of Anjou, was the count of Anjou and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also duke of Normandy by his marriage claim and conquest, from 1144. Geoffrey m ...

(1113–1151), Duke of Normandy, founder of the

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet (Help:IPA/English, /plænˈtædʒənət/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the Medieval France, French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by mo ...

Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Geoffrey II (; , ; 23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage to Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons of Henry II of England and ...

(1158–1186), son of King Henry II of England and brother of Kings Richard and John

Writers and chroniclers

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

(c. 1095–c. 1155), Welsh cleric and chronicler, one of the major figures in the development of British history * Geoffroy du Breuil (, 12th century French chronicler * Geoffrey the Baker (died c. 1360), English historian and chronicler * Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry (c. 1320–1391), French nobleman and writer *

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

(c. 1340s–1400), English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat and diplomat

Others

* Geoffrey (archbishop of York) (c. 1152–1212), illegitimate son of King Henry II of England, Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of York * Geoffrey (Dean of Lincoln) ) (died 1182 or 1183), English Roman Catholic priest * Geoffroy de Charney (died 1314), French Preceptor of the Knights Templar

Modern world

In film and television

* Geoff Dolan, New Zealand actor, singer and corporate entertainer * Geoff Edwards, American actor and game-show host * Geoff Eigenmann, Filipino actor, host and model * Geoff Harvey, Australian musician and television personality * Geoffrey Hayes, English television presenter and actor *

Geoffrey Holder Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, director, choreographer, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, before his film career began in 19 ...

, Trinidadian-American actor *

Geoffrey Horne Geoffrey Horne (born August 22, 1933) is an American actor, director, and acting coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. His film and television credits include '' The Bridge on the River Kwai'', '' Bonjour Tristesse'', '' The St ...

, American actor *

Geoffrey Lewis (actor) Geoffrey Bond Lewis (July 31, 1935 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films and television shows, and was principally known for his film roles alongside Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford. He often portrayed vi ...

, American actor *

Geoff Morrell (actor) Geoff Morrell (born 19 February 1958) is an Australian actor. Early life Morrell was born in Fairfield in Western Sydney, where his father was a schoolteacher. The family moved to Wollongong when Morrell was nine. He finished high school wit ...

, Australian actor * Geoff Murphy, New Zealand film director, writer and assistant director *

Geoffrey Palmer (actor) Geoffrey Dyson Palmer (4 June 1927 – 5 November 2020) was an English actor. His roles in British television sitcoms include Jimmy Anderson in ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'' (1976–79), Ben Parkinson in ''Butterflies'' (1978–1983) ...

, English actor * Geoffrey Perkins, British radio and television producer * Geoff Ramsey, American voice actor and film producer *

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Geoffrey Rush, numerous accolades, including an Academy Aw ...

, Australian actor * Geoff Thompson (writer), British writer, film director and self-defence expert * Geoffrey Wright, Australian film director

In music

Geoff Barrow Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak, and Quakers, and he has scored several films. Portishead was formed in 1991. He named the band after the ...

, producer/instrumentalist for the band Portishead * Geoffrey

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

, English rock guitarist who played with

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

* Geoff Berner, Canadian singer-songwriter on the accordion * Geoffrey Burgon, English composer * Geoff Castellucci, bass vocalist for the a cappella group

VoicePlay The fourth season of ''The Sing-Off'' premiered on December 9, 2013. The number of a cappella groups was decreased from sixteen back to ten, resulting in a new format. Nick Lachey stayed as host for the new season, with Ben Folds and Shawn Stoc ...

Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group the Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to Lond ...

, keyboard player with

The Buggles The Buggles are an English New wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which topped the UK ...

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Geoff Emerick Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums ''Revolver'' (1966), '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road' ...

, recording studio audio engineer best known for his work with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

* Geoffrey Gordon (composer), American composer * Geoff Harvey, Australian musician and television personality * Geoffrey Kelly, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist for Canadian celtic folk rock band Spirit of the West * Geoff Nicholls, former keyboard player for

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

* Geoffrey Richardson (musician), multi-instrumentalist for

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

* Geoff Rickly, lead singer and lyricist of the Post-Hardcore band Thursday * Geoff Stone, percussionist for Drastic Fall * Geoff Tate, American rock singer, former member of the band Queensryche * Geoff Wigington, guitarist for the pop punk band Waterparks

In sports

* Geoff Abrams, American tennis player * Geoffrey Beck (cricketer) (1918–2019), English cricketer and minister * Geoff Bent, one of the eight Manchester United footballers that lost their lives in the Munich air disaster * Geoff Blum, Major League Baseball player *

Geoff Bodine Geoffrey Eli Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is an American former motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He raced at the NASCAR Cup Series from 1979 to 2011, earning 18 wins and a best season finish of third in 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1990. ...

, NASCAR driver * Geoff Boss, ChampCar and IMSA driver * Geoffrey Boycott, England Test cricketer * Geoffrey Cantin-Arku (born 1998), Canadian football player * Geoff Capes, British former shot put champion and two-time World's Strongest Man winner * Geoffrey Cheah, Hong Kong competitive swimmer * Geoff Collins (American football), American college football player and coach * Geoffrey Gray (born 1997), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League * Geoff Grover, Australian rules footballer * Geoff Horsfield, English football coach and former player * Geoff Howarth, New Zealand cricketer * Geoff Hudson, English footballer * Geoff Hunt, Australian squash player *

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

, English footballer, the only one to score a hat trick in a World Cup final * Geoff Jenkins, Major League Baseball player * Geoffrey Mutai, Kenyan marathon runner * Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer * Geoff Pullar, England and Lancashire cricketer * Geoff Roes, ultra-runner, Western States 100 Endurance Run record holder * Geoffrey Rono (born 1987), Kenyan middle-distance runner * Geoff Rowley, professional skateboarder *

Geoff Sanderson Geoffrey M. Sanderson (born February 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, most notably for the Hartford Whalers and Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Drafted by the Hartford ...

, National Hockey League player * Geoff Schwartz, American NFL football player * Geoff Toovey, rugby league coach for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles * Geoff Wheel, Welsh rugby union player

In politics

* Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, British politician * Geoffrey Cox (British politician), British politician *

Geoff Davis Geoffrey Clark Davis (born October 26, 1958) is an American businessman, politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2012. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district included 24 counties in the northeastern p ...

, former Kentucky Congressional Representative *

Geoff Diehl Geoffrey G. Diehl (born April 23, 1969) is an American politician from Massachusetts. A Republican, he represented the 7th Plymouth district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. Diehl was the unsuccessful Republic ...

, former Massachusetts State Representative * Geoffrey Dickens, British politician *

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to ...

(1926–2015), British Conservative politician and Deputy Prime Minister * Geoffrey Mutiwa, Ugandan politician

In writing

* Geoffrey Household (1900–1988), British writer *

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash (comics), Flash, and Superman has drawn critical accl ...

, American writer of comic books * Geoffrey Moorhouse (1931–2009), British writer * Geoff Nicholson (1953–2025), British novelist and non-fiction writer * Geoff Thompson (writer), British writer, film director and self-defence expert

In other fields

* Geoffrey Ashe (1923–2022), British historian * Geoffrey Beene (1927–2004), American fashion designer, born Samuel Albert Bozeman, Jr * Geoffrey Norman Blainey, Australian historian and political commentator * Geoff Dixon, Australian corporate executive * Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, British historian of the Tudor period * Geoffrey Evans (1940–2012), English-born Irish serial killer * Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., American law professor *

Geoffrey Hinton Geoffrey Everest Hinton (born 1947) is a British-Canadian computer scientist, cognitive scientist, and cognitive psychologist known for his work on artificial neural networks, which earned him the title "the Godfather of AI". Hinton is Univer ...

, British computer scientist * Geoffrey Langlands (1917–2019), British Army officer and educator * Geoffroy Lejeune (born 1988), French journalist * Geoff Lloyd, British radio DJ * Geoffrey Ma, Chief Justice of Hong Kong * Geoffrey Massey (1924–2020), Canadian architect and urban planner * Geoff Morrell, American journalist and public affairs official * Geoffrey Pleyers, Belgian sociologist and researcher * Geoffrey Russom, American philologist * Geoffrey See, entrepreneur and startup ecosystem builder in North Korea

Fictional characters

* Geoffrey the Giraffe, mascot of '' Toys R Us'' chain of toy stores

References

{{given name, Geoffrey English masculine given names Masculine given names French masculine given names Lists of people by given name de:Geoffrey eo:Geoffrey fr:Geoffroy ja:ジェフ