Geoffrey (name)

Geoffrey is an English and German masculine given name. It is generally considered the Anglo-Norman form of the Germanic compound *gudą 'god' and *friþuz 'peace'.[1] It is a derivative of Dutch Godfried, German Gottfried and Old English Gotfrith and Godfrith.

Geoffrey
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou
Pronunciation/ˈdʒɛfri/ JEF-ree
Gendermale
Origin
Region of originFrancia, medieval German, Norman England
Other names
Nickname(s)Geoff
DerivedGodfried, Gottfried, Godfrey
Related namesJeffrey, Geoff, Jeff
Look up Geoffrey in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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.

The form as 'Geoffrey' was probably introduced to Norman England.

It was also Anglicised as Jeffrey later after the name became more popular after the likes of President Jefferson. Popularity of the name declined after the medieval period, but it was revived in modern England and the British Empire at large. Modern hypocorisms include Geoff or Jeff.

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

Etymology

The Old French form of the name was Geoffrei ([dʒɔfrej]), which developed into West Middle French Geoffrey and East Middle French Geoffroy.

Latinised forms include Jotfredus, Jozsfredus, Josfredus (10th century) and Jof[f]redus, Jofridus, Jaufredus, Geffredus (11th century).[2]

The original spelling with Jo- was modified in Geo-. The graphic e after G is used in French to avoid the pronunciation [go], but [ʒɔ] instead. The spelling Geo- is probably due to the influence of the first name Georges, derived from Old French Jorre, Joire.

The Old Frankish name Godefrid itself is from the Germanic elements god- and frid-. The Middle Latin form is Godefridus (whence also Godfrey). The second element is widely used in Germanic names, 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, Goths) or a theonym (a byname of Wotan).[3]

Albert Dauzat (1951, rev. ed. 1980) followed by others, argued that the Middle French name Geoffrey in fact 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-.[4] If a strictly phonetic development is assumed, Geoffrey cannot be derived from Godfrid, as *go- would result in Old French go- ([gɔ]) and not geo- (jo-, [dʒɔ]), ie goda-fridu would yield Godefroy [godfrwa] but not Geoffroy. On the other hand, *gau- [gaw] would regularly result in jo- (geo- [dʒɔ]),[5] i.e *gaut-fridu- would regularly result in Geoffroy [dʒɔf:rwa].

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 [dʒi] (Modern French [ʒi]), as in Gisalbert > Gilbert (ie *Gisalfrid > *Giffrey), and *w(e)alh- would have resulted in *gaul- [gol] (ie *Wealhfrid > *Gaulfrey, *Gauffrey).

People named Geoffrey or Geoffroy

Rulers

Writers and chroniclers

Others

In film and television

In music

In sports

In politics

In writing

In other fields

See also

References
  1. "Godevert". Historische woordenboeken (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  2. Louis Guinet, Les emprunts gallo-romans au germanique (du Ier siècle à la fin du Ve siècle), Éditions Klincksieck, 1982.
  3. Ernst Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856), 533.
  4. Albert Dauzat, Noms et prénoms de France, édition revue et commentée par Marie-Thérèse Morlet, Librairie Larousse 1980, pp. 287b - 288a - 296ab.
  5. for example, Late Latin *gauta gave Old French jöe and Modern French joue "cheek", and Latin gaudia gave French joie "joy". . In the history of the French language, there is a regular palatalisation of [g] > [dʒ] > [ʒ], before [a], [ɛ], [e], [i], but not before [o], [u], where [g] was maintained.
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