Goodfellow Surname

44,451st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 11,684 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Monaco

Goodfellow Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the good fellow,' a good companion, an honest mate; compare Goodfriend.'Ne no knyght ne no squyer That wolde be a good felawe.'

A Lytell Geste of Robin Hode. Roger Godfelawe, Essex, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

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Goodfellow Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,5471:102,18711,287
England3,4731:16,0432,333
Canada2,0881:17,6462,514
Australia9951:27,1313,690
Scotland7161:7,4771,137
New Zealand2481:18,2593,196
Wales2121:14,5971,597
Northern Ireland1261:14,6432,016
South Africa471:1,152,71766,933
Philippines401:2,530,956131,537
France291:2,290,439180,028
Portugal281:372,08012,265
Spain121:3,896,00372,236
Switzerland111:746,62949,719
United Arab Emirates91:1,018,03036,884
Mexico91:13,791,80145,470
Thailand81:8,829,793476,604
Netherlands81:2,110,89788,902
Bermuda71:9,3261,286
Venezuela61:5,034,01343,431
Germany61:13,417,576340,600
Monaco51:7,4131,114
Sweden51:1,969,351134,077
Norway41:1,285,57269,185
Russia41:36,030,764577,589
Barbados41:71,8621,737
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
Ireland31:1,569,64617,286
Japan31:42,614,76459,022
South Korea31:17,080,0852,793
Nigeria21:88,571,379625,098
Vietnam21:46,323,0275,235
China21:683,660,78330,601
India21:383,532,6911,645,216
Zambia21:7,924,96145,994
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Belize11:355,4743,977
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Bahamas11:391,7512,737
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
Vanuatu11:263,2762,086
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Jersey11:99,2026,620
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland1541:28,7652,963
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2,0171:12,0851,842
Scotland5591:6,696959
Wales611:25,7121,467
Jersey71:7,4121,296
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States9061:55,4296,212

Goodfellow (829) may also be a first name.

Goodfellow Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the good fellow,' a good companion, an honest mate; compare Goodfriend.'Ne no knyght ne no squyer That wolde be a good felawe.'

A Lytell Geste of Robin Hode. Roger Godfelawe, Essex, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

William Godefelawe, Close Rolls, I Henry V. Thomas Godfelewe. Rolls of Parliament.

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

Generally explained as 'good fellow,' 'good companion.' Bardsley records the name Godfelawe in Essex in 1273. John Guydfallo or Gudfallow, vicar of Glenberny in 1434 and 1435 (REB., I, 60; II, 49), is probably the John Gudefalow who appears as presbyter of St. Andrews and notary public in 1469 (Laing, 160). Robert Gudefallow was charged with rescuing a felon in 1529 (Trials, I, p. 142), Richard Gudfallow had a precept of remission in 1536 (RSS., II, 2033), and Robert Gudfallow was an inhabitant of Brechin in 1548 (REB., II, 200). William Guldfellow was heir of James Guldfellow in Leuchares in 1627 (Inputs., 1328), David Goodfellow was servitor to the earl of Southesk in 1683 (Brechin), and William Goodfellow in Over Abbingtoun, parish of Craufurdjohn, 1662, and five more of the name ere recorded in the Lanark Commissariot Records. The name also occurs in Edinbergh in 1632 (Edinb. Marr.), and William Goodfellow was tenant in Swinie, 1800 (Heirs, 513). Gudfallo 1592.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English, Scottish) One who was a pleasant companion, a jolly person.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

A man of sociable and friendly character. The French have their Boncompagnon. Godfelawe. H.R.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

For Woodfellow; from Anglo-Saxon wuda-felaw, a wood companion or follower.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

A translation of the Norman Bonenfant. See Bullivart.

The Norman People (1874)

From the French, Goudaillier (?); a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Goodfellow Last Name Facts

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

Goodfellow is held by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It may also appear as a variant:. Click here for further possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Goodfellow? popularity and diffusion

The last name Goodfellow is the 44,451st most widely held last name world-wide, borne by around 1 in 623,720 people. The last name Goodfellow occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 47 percent of Goodfellow live; 47 percent live in North America and 45 percent live in Anglo-North America. It is also the 283,643rd most widely held forename globally, borne by 829 people.

The surname is most widespread in The United States, where it is held by 3,547 people, or 1 in 102,187. In The United States Goodfellow is primarily found in: California, where 8 percent reside, Utah, where 8 percent reside and New York, where 8 percent reside. Other than The United States it occurs in 48 countries. It is also found in England, where 30 percent reside and Canada, where 18 percent reside.

Goodfellow Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Goodfellow has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Goodfellow last name increased 392 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 172 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 128 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it increased 348 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 98 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Goodfellow Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the last name is principally Catholic (56%) in Ireland.

In The United States Goodfellow are 13.67% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 60.44% registered with the political party.

The amount Goodfellow earn in different countries varies significantly. In South Africa they earn 40.33% more than the national average, earning R 333,468 per year; in United States they earn 13.21% more than the national average, earning $48,847 USD per year and in Canada they earn 9.3% more than the national average, earning $54,302 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Goodfellows9510/
Godfellow954/
Goodfelow953/
Goodfllow952/
Good Fellow952/
Good-Fellow950/
Goodfallow9036/
Goddfellow903/
Goodfollow900/

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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 Goodfellow
  • 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