Griffin (surname)
![]() Roark Griffin surname map | |
Origin | |
---|---|
Word/name | Irish |
Meaning | "descendant of the Griffin-like" |
[1] |
Griffin is a surname of primarily Irish origin. Griffin was the 75th most common surname on the island of Ireland in 1891.[2] It was estimated in 2000 that Griffin is the 114th most common surname in the U.S., with a population in the order of two hundred thousand.[3]
Griffin in Ireland
The surname "Griffin" has a number of Gaelic sources in Ireland.
Ó Gríofa
The spelling Ó Gríofa (male) or Ní Ghríofa (female) is associated with the Co. Clare family, whose surname was also anglicised as O'Griffey or O'Griffy. Ó Gríofa translates to English as "descendant of the Griffin-like".
Prior to the Irish spelling review, Ó Gríofa was spelt Ó Gríobhtha. The Ó Gríofa were chieftains of the Cineal Cuallachta branch of the Dál gCais, or Dalcassians, with their castle at Ballygriffy located in North Ballygriffey, Dysert (formerly the barony of Inchiquin). The Ó Gríofa are of the same stock as the O'Deas and the O'Quins, who belong to the Cineal Fearmaic, or more appropriately, the Ui Fearmaic. [4]
Ó Grifín
The "Ó Grifín" (male) / "Ní Ghrifín" (female) spelling belongs to the Kerry family.
Ó Grálaigh
A surname also anglicised as Greally and Grealey, among others. Found along the Mayo, Roscommon and Galway border. [5]
In Ireland, the surname Griffin can also be associated with the Welsh surname "Griffith", but to a much lesser degree.[6]
Griffin in Wales
The surname "Griffin" in Wales, generally speaking, is a variant of the surname "Griffith", or other similar Welsh names.
Notable people with the surname
A
- Adrian Griffin (born 1974), American basketball player
- Alan Griffin (born 1960), Australian politician
- Alex Griffin (born 1971), English guitarist
- Alfredo Griffin (born 1957), Dominican Republic baseball player
- Alistair Griffin (born 1977), English singer/songwriter and musician
- Andy Griffin (born 1979), English footballer
- Angela Griffin (born 1976), English television actress
- Anne Dias-Griffin (born 1971), French/American hedge fund manager
- Anthony Griffin, Australian rugby league football coach
- Anthony Jerome Griffin (1866–1935), American politician
- Archie Griffin (born 1954), American football player
- Arthur Griffin (footballer) (1871–1945), English footballer
- Arthur Joseph Griffin (born 1988), American baseball player
B
- Bartholomew Griffin (died 1602), English poet
- Becky Griffin (born 1977), Israeli model and actress
- Ben Griffin (disambiguation), several people
- Benjamin Griffin (disambiguation), several people
- Bernard William Griffin, (1899–1956), Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster 1943–56
- Bessie Griffin (1922–1989), American Gospel singer
- Blake Griffin (born 1989), American basketball player
- Brian C. Griffin (born 1953), American businessman & administrator
C
- Cedric Griffin (born 1982), American football player
- Charles Griffin (1825–1867), American Union general
- Charlie Griffin (born 1979), British footballer
- Clarence Griffin (1888–1973), American tennis player
- Clive Griffin, British singer
- Colin Griffin (born 1982), Irish race walker
- Colin Griffin (footballer) (born 1956), English footballer
- Cornelius Griffin (born 1986), American football player
- Cyrus Griffin (1749–1810), American lawyer & administrator
D
- Dale "Buffin" Griffin (1948–2016), British musician
- Daniel T. Griffin (1911–1941), American Navy pilot
- Danny Griffin (born 1977), Northern Ireland footballer
- David Griffin (disambiguation)
- David Ray Griffin (born 1939), philosopher, theologian, and proponent of 9/11 conspiracy theories
- Des Griffin, American conspiracy theorist
- Donald Griffin (1915–2003), American Zoologist
- Doug Griffin (born 1947), American baseball player
E
- Eddie Griffin, African-American actor and comedian
- Eddie Griffin (basketball)
- Edgar Griffin, British politician
- Eric Griffin
- Eric Griffin (basketball) (born 1990), basketball player for Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League[7]
F
- Forrest Griffin (born 1979), American MMA fighter
- Francis Vielé-Griffin (1864–1937), French poet
G
- G. Edward Griffin (born 1931), American film producer, publisher, author and lecturer
- Gavin Griffin (born 1981), American poker player
- Geoffrey Griffin (cricketer)
- Geoffrey William Griffin
- George C. Griffin
- Gerald Griffin
H
- A. Harry Griffin, journalist and mountaineer
- Harry Griffin (cricketer), English cricketer
- Hawley Griffin, the variant from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- Hayden Griffin (1943–2013), British stage designer
- Helen Griffin, (1959–2018), Welsh actress and writer
I
- Ian P. Griffin, British Astronomer
J
- James D. Griffin
- James Bennett Griffin
- Jane Griffin (Lady Franklin)
- Jimmy Griffin
- John Griffin (disambiguation)
- John-Ford Griffin
- John Griffin Griffin, name used by John Griffin Whitwell, 4th Baron Howard de Walden
- John Howard Griffin
- Johnny Griffin
K
- Kathy Griffin
- Katie Griffin
- Kelsey Griffin (born 1987), American–Australian basketball player
- Kenneth C. Griffin, hedge fund manager and Forbes 400 member
- Kenneth W. Griffin (1909–1956), American organist
- Kevin Griffin
L
- Larry Griffin
- Leonard Griffin
- Lois Griffin (Toronto politician)
- Lorna Griffin
- Lynne Griffin
- Liam Griffin (disambiguation)
M
- Malaika Griffin (born 1971), Anti-white racist convicted of the 1999 murder of Jason Patrick Horsley in Denver, Colorado
- Marcus Griffin
- Marvin Griffin
- Marion Mahony Griffin
- Merv Griffin (1925–2007), entertainer, talk show host, and creator of the television game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune
- Michael D. Griffin, the Administrator of NASA
- Michael F. Griffin, anti-abortion activist who killed David Gunn
- Michael Griffin (American football) (born 1985), American football player
- Michael Griffin (Irish priest) murdered during the Irish War for Independence. Father Griffins GAA club in the Irish city of Galway is named after him.
- Miriam T. Griffin, classicist and Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford
- Montell Griffin, professional boxer
- Morgan Griffin, professional actress starred in Nickelodeon show The Sleepover Club Series 2 as Charlie Anderson
N
- Nick Griffin (born 1959), former chairman of the British National Party
- Nonnie Griffin (1933–2019), Canadian stage actress
P
- Patrick Griffin (disambiguation), several people
- Patty Griffin (born 1964), American singer-songwriter
- Paul Griffen (born 1975), New Zealand-born Italian rugby player
- Paul Griffin (disambiguation), several people
Q
- Quentin Griffin (born 1981), American football player
R
- Renee Griffin (born 1968), American actress
- Richard Griffin and Company, 19th-century Scots publishing house
- Richard Allen Griffin (born 1952), American judge
- Rick Griffin (1944–1991) American illustrator & cartoonist
- Robert Griffin III (born 1990), American football player
- Robert P. Griffin (1923–2015), American politician
- Roger Griffin (born 1948), British historian
- Ron Griffin (footballer) (1919–1987), English footballer
- Ron Griffin (artist) (born 1954), American artist
- Ruth Griffin (1893-1984), American actress better known as Ruth Renick
S
- S. A. Griffin (born 1954), American poet & actor
- Samuel Griffin (1746–1810), American lawyer & politician
- Sandy Griffin (1858–1926), American baseball player
- Shaquem Griffin (born 1995), American football player and twin brother of:
- Shaquill Griffin (born 1995), also an American football player
- Simon Goodell Griffin (1824–1902), American soldier
- Steve Griffin (born 1964), American football player
- Susan Griffin (born 1943), American author
T
- Taylor Griffin (born 1986), American basketball player (and brother of Blake Griffin)
- Ted Griffin (born 1970), American screenwriter
- Thomas Griffin (politician) (1773–1837), American politician, lawyer and judge
- Tom Griffin (disambiguation), several people
- Tyrone Griffin, Jr. (born 1985), American musician known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign
- Tyson Griffin (born 1984), American martial artist
- Todd Griffin, American musician
V
- Victor Griffin (b. 1924), Irish Anglican priest and author
- Victor William Griffin (ca. 1873–1958), Quapaw chief and peyote roadman from Oklahoma
W
- W. E. B. Griffin (1929–2019), American author
- Walter Burley Griffin (1878–1937), American architect and landscape architect most famous for planning Canberra
- William Richard Griffin (1882–1944), American auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse
- William Michael Griffin (born 1968), Hip-Hop MC known as Rakim
Fictional characters with the surname
- The Griffin family of Family Guy:
- Peter Griffin, father
- Lois Griffin, mother
- Meg Griffin, daughter and oldest child
- Chris Griffin, older son
- Stewie Griffin, younger son
- Brian Griffin, anthropomorphic pet dog
- Francis Griffin, Peter's (adoptive) father
- Thelma Griffin, Peter's mother
- Bertram Griffin, Peter's biological son (though not raised in the Griffin household)
- Griffin (The Invisible Man) (Jack Griffin), fictional character; H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man ("Jack" only in film versions)
- Judge Griffin, a character in the Judge Dredd comic strip
- Maya Griffin, a character in The O.C.
- Kylie Griffin, a character in Extreme Ghostbusters and in the IDW Ghostbusters ongoing comic series.
- Ric Griffin Fictitious Holby City character played by actor Hugh Quarshie
- Sandi Griffin, a character in the animated series Daria
- Clarke Griffin, a character in The CW network series The 100
See also
- Griffin, Griffin (disambiguation)
- Griffin Theatre Company
- Griffin Poetry Prize
- Griffith (surname)
- Webster Griffin Tarpley, journalist
References
- ^ 1990 Census Name Files Archived 2010-10-07 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
- ^ Matheson 1891
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau 1990
- ^ O'Laughlin, Michael C. Families of County Clare Ireland. Irish Genealogical Foundation. ISBN 978-0940134980.
- ^ "Irish Surname Maps".
- ^ O'Laughin 1997
- ^ [1]
- "Surname Maps of Ireland" (map). barrygriffin.com. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
- O'Laughin, M. C. (1997). "The Book of Irish Families Great & Small". Irish Genealogical Foundation
- Matheson, R. E. (1891). "Special Report on Surnames in Ireland"
- Williams, M. (1996) "Researching Local History"
- U.S. Census Bureau (1990), Population Division, Population Analysis & Evaluation Staff