Godwin

Godwin is an English-language surname with Anglo-Saxon origins. It means God's friend and is thus equivalent to Theophilus, Jedediah, Amadeus and Reuel.

.However, the word "Godwin" can also mean "helper of mankind"

People

Politics and governance

• Abraham Godwin (1763–1835), New Jersey General Assembly 1802–1806, Elector for Andrew Jackson 1828
• Abraham Godwin Jr. (1791–1849), New Jersey General Assembly 1821–1832, took vote to D.C. for Presidential Election 1840
• Godwin, Earl of Wessex (died 1053), earl in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great
• Hannibal Lafayette Godwin (1873–1929), North Carolina Congressman
• Mary Wollstonecraft, later Mary Godwin (1759–1797), English author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
• Mills E. Godwin Jr. (1914–1999), Governor of Virginia
• Richard Godwin (1922–2005), First Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
• William Godwin (1756–1836), English political philosopher

Religion

• Godwin of Stavelot, English saint
• Francis Godwin (1562–1633), English bishop and historian
• Godwin (bishop), bishop of Lichfield c. 1003 – 1017
• Jeff Godwin, American fundamentalist, former rock musician
• Thomas Godwin (bishop) (1517–1590), bishop of Bath and Wells

Arts and entertainment

• Catherine Grace Godwin (1798–1845), Scottish poet
• Edward William Godwin (1833–1886), English architect
• Elizabeth Ayton Godwin (1817–1889), English hymnwriter, religious poet
• Fay Godwin (1931–2005), British photographer
• Frank Godwin (1889–1959), American illustrator, creator of Connie comic strip
• Frank Godwin (film producer) (1917–2012), English film producer
• Gail Godwin (born 1937), American novelist and short story writer
• George Stanley Godwin (1889–1974), English author
• Jeff Godwin, American fundamentalist, former rock musician
• Joscelyn Godwin (born 1945), English musicologist and translator
• Mary Godwin (artist) (1887–1960), British artist
• Mary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; 1797–1851), English author of Frankenstein
• Parke Godwin (1929–2013), American writer
• Parke Godwin (journalist) (1816–1904), American journalist
• Paul Godwin (1902–1982), Polish violinist and bandleader
• Peter Godwin (born 1957), Zimbabwean author and journalist
• Peter Godwin (singer), English new wave musician
• Robert Godwin (born 1958), British author
• Ted Godwin (1933–2013), Canadian artist
• Tom Godwin (1915–1980), American science fiction author

Science

• George Godwin (1813–1888), British architect, town planner and journalist
• Harry Godwin (1901–1985), English botanist
• Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen (1834–1923), English geologist and ornithologist
• Linda M. Godwin (born 1952), American astronaut
• Robert Alfred Cloynes Godwin-Austen (1808–1884), English geologist

Sport

• Godwin Igwebuike (born 1994), American football player
• Billy Godwin (born 1964), American college baseball coach
• Chris Godwin (born 1996), American football player
• John Godwin (baseball) (1877–1956), American baseball player
• Neville Godwin (born 1975), South African tennis player
• Terry Godwin (born 1996), American football player
• Tommy Godwin (footballer) (1927–1996), Irish footballer
• Tommy Godwin (cyclist, born 1912) (1912–1975), English cyclist and world record holder for miles covered in a year
• Tommy Godwin (cyclist, born 1920) (1920–2012), British track cyclist active during the 1940s and 1950s
• Verdi Godwin (1926–2013), English footballer
• Wayne Godwin (born 1982), English rugby player

Military

• Captain Abraham Godwin (1724–1777), Captain of Marines on the USS Lady Washington in the American Revolutionary War
• Bill Godwin, Rhodesian brigadier
• James Godwin, American admiral
• James Gowing Godwin (1923–1995), New Zealand military aviator
• John Godwin (Royal Navy officer) (1919–1945), British Naval Reserve officer during World War II

Other people

• Becky Godwin (1954–1968), daughter of Virginia Governor Godwin, killed by lightning
• Glen Stewart Godwin (born 1958), American murderer, former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive
• Mike Godwin (born 1956), American lawyer, created Godwin's law of Internet discussions (mentioning Hitler)

Fictional characters

• Neil Godwin, from The Office

Places

• Godwin, North Carolina

Other uses

• General Godwin, convict ship
• "Godwin" (Korede Bello song), a song by Nigerian artiste Korede Bello
• Godwin's law on comparison with Nazis, named after American lawyer Mike Godwin

See also

• Goodwin (disambiguation)
• List of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) surnames