Godly Surname

837,371st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 329 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Switzerland

Godly Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Godley,' a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, Cheshire.

Robert de Godelegh, 1294: East Cheshire.

Henry de Godelegh, 1299: ibid.

William de Godeleeh, 1349: ibid.

Read More About This Surname

Godly Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1091:511,17532,340
Switzerland761:108,06511,329
United States381:9,538,393399,091
Nigeria311:5,714,283142,531
Australia231:1,173,72664,589
India201:38,353,269431,471
Canada81:4,605,699220,704
Qatar61:393,00055,922
United Arab Emirates41:2,290,56860,372
Ghana41:6,755,17315,406
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Iceland11:380,09011,096
France11:66,422,722504,397
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland71:632,83819,259
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England971:251,29218,244
Scotland21:1,871,60827,884
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1271:395,42329,402

Godly (521) may also be a first name.

Godly Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Godley,' a township in the parish of Mottram-in-Longdendale, Cheshire.

Robert de Godelegh, 1294: East Cheshire.

Henry de Godelegh, 1299: ibid.

William de Godeleeh, 1349: ibid.

Gilbert de Godelegh, 1349: ibid.

Hamelinus de Godelee, 35 Edward I: Calendarium Genealogicum: Henry III-Edward I.

Willelmus de Godlay, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Cecilia de Godelay, 1379: ibid.

1775. Married — John Snead and Margaret Godly: St. George, Hanover Square.

Godly is found as a Puritan fontname, but it has nothing to do with the origin of the surname. It came too late to influence anything but Christian names, and soon became unfashionable in that category.

1639. Edward Burton and Godley Neale: Marriage Lic. (Westminster).

1579. Baptised — Godlye, d. Richard Fauterell: Warbleton, Sussex.

1611. Baptised — Godly, d. Henry Gray. Joane Standmer and Godly Gotherd, sureties: South Berstead, Sussex.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English)Bel.to Godley(Chesh.), 13th and 14th cent. Godelegh = prob. Goda’s Lea [Old English leák] There is also a Hundred of Godley in Surrey.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

A township in Cheshire, where the family of De Godlee were resident temp. Edward I. Godele is an archaism for goodly, well favoured.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Godly Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Godly Come From? nationality or country of origin

Godly (Marathi: गोद्ली) occurs more in England more than any other country/territory. It can also be rendered in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Godly? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 837,371st most frequently used family name internationally, borne by approximately 1 in 22,150,595 people. The last name occurs predominantly in Europe, where 58 percent of Godly are found; 33 percent are found in Northern Europe and 33 percent are found in British Isles. It is also the 369,942nd most prevalent first name throughout the world, borne by 521 people.

It is most widespread in England, where it is borne by 109 people, or 1 in 511,175. In England Godly is most numerous in: Greater London, where 61 percent live, Kent, where 10 percent live and Cambridgeshire, where 6 percent live. Outside of England this surname occurs in 18 countries. It also occurs in Switzerland, where 23 percent live and The United States, where 12 percent live.

Godly Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Godly has changed over time. In England the share of the population with the surname expanded 112 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it decreased 70 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Godly Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Godly last name is principally Catholic (71%) in Ireland.

Godly earn somewhat less than the average income. In United States they earn 13.76% less than the national average, earning $37,211 USD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Godley915,482/
Goodly91384/
Godlay9122/
Godliy9110/
Goudly916/
Goidly910/
Odly896/
Goodley831,607/
Goudley832/
Godlays832/
Godilly831/
Goidlay831/
Goddley830/
Godla802,710/
Godli80126/
Odley8096/
Godle8070/
Gudly8014/
Gadly8013/
Oudly805/
Odloy802/
Odlys802/
Hodly801/
Ohdly801/
Odlya801/
Goudelly7710/
Goodelly771/
Godler73493/
Hodley73389/
Gadley73332/
Godleś73244/
Goudla73234/
Godlee7399/
Godles7378/
Goodle7360/
Godlis7334/
Goodla7331/
Goddli7328/
Oudley7321/
Godlla7317/
Goddla7314/
Gadlay7313/
Ghodle739/
Godlha739/
Houdly738/
Odilly736/
Gudlay736/
Godhli735/
Hodlys735/
Goddle734/
Godhle734/
Gudley733/
Goudle733/
Ghodla732/
Godlia732/
Goidle732/
Goidla732/
Hoodly731/
Gaddly731/
Odelly731/
Godlai731/
Godlip731/
Godlle731/
Goodli731/
Oodley731/
Godlie731/
Odlaya731/
Godlli731/
Godhla731/
Ghadly731/
Godled731/
Oddley730/
Goedle730/
Godlep730/
Godlet730/
Adly6767,401/
Odle676,008/
Goodlet671,323/
Goddlla67233/
Godelle67225/
Gudelly67138/
Godille6787/
Godelli6785/
Odla6777/
Goodlip6755/
Odli6750/
Godella6742/
Gaudley6732/
Goydeli6718/
Godilla6717/
Godless6714/
Goodlit6714/
Goodles6712/
Hoodley677/
Godlead676/
Goudlli675/
Houdley674/
Goodler674/
Goudlla674/
Godlaid674/
Gadilly673/
Goddlli672/
Goeddle672/
Goodlee671/
Gudilly671/
Gaddlay671/
Gadelly671/
Goddlet671/
Ghoudli671/
Ghodhle671/
Ghodhli671/
Godhlea671/
Godilli671/
Godlepp671/
Goodlie671/
Goudlaa671/
Godlett671/
Goudleh671/
Godlich670/
Godlees670/
Goodled670/
Hoodlay670/
Gooddle670/
Godleep670/
Goodlep670/
Goodleu670/
Godleap670/
Godleip670/

Godly Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Godly in the Marathi language
गोद्लीgodli-

Search for Another Surname

Godly Reference & Research

Godley FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

Godley / Godby FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Godly
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis