The surname Griffith (whence Griffiths) derives from the Old Welsh Griphiud. The suffix ‘-iud’ means ‘lord’, though the meaning of the stem remains debatable. One plausible explanation is that it derives from the common Latin appellation Rufus, which means ‘red-haired’, though there is no proof as to this root. Griffin is a pet-name form of Griffith which is popular in Wales; this was the name given to many early Welsh princes. Griffin is also the name given to a Welsh heraldic dragon seen on the Welsh national flag, as well as on many Welsh pub signs. The pub-sign griffin is normally green, though on the flag it is red on a half-green, half-white horizontal background.

However, the name Griffin is not always Welsh (whereas the name Griffith is). It originates from two distinct areas-the Welsh border country and the eastern counties of England. The eastern Griffins are of Breton origin, coming to England after the Battle of Hastings.

The earliest reference to the name Griffin is in the Calendarium Genealogicum during the reign of Edward I, where one Tuder fil Griffini is mentioned. (The ‘fil’ is short for the Latin filius, meaning ‘son of’, the consequent name being Latinised from the doubtless spoken form of Griffin to Griffinus.) The earliest reference to the name Griffiths is found in the Wills at Chester for the year 1585. Here one John Ap-Griffith is recorded. (‘Ap’ or ‘ab’ is Welsh for ‘son of’-as in John ab Evan, which became corrupted to the name Bevan.) The root name Griffith gave rise to the variants Griffiths and Griffis. Both of these mean ‘dependant of Griffith’, the suffix ‘-s’ meaning ‘dependant of’ or ‘son of’ (compare the name Bennett, which gives Bennettson and Bennetts).

In Elizabethan times Sir Henry Griffith’s daughter, Ann, devoted all her love and energies to their Yorkshire mansion, Burton Agnes Hall. One evening, while returning from a visit, she was set upon by robbers and savagely beaten. Before she died she begged her family to let her head remain within the walls of her beloved house. She threatened to make the house unliveable if they failed to honour her wish, and promptly proceeded to do so when the family, believing her injuries had deranged her mind, buried her in the family vault. Moans, loud crashing noises and the sound of slammed doors filled the house and strange personal disasters befell the inhabitants until the skull was disinterred and brought inside. Today it is firmly ensconced behind a massive screen in the central hall.

In March 1925, one of America’s most violent tornados hit Griffin, Indiana. It destroyed 196 out of the 200 buildings in the town and left 50 dead in its wake.

The first of the great clipper ships such as the Cutty Sark was the Rainbow, designed by the American naval architect, John Willis Griffiths (1809—82).

D.W. Griffith (1874—1948) is regarded by many as the father of the film industry. In search of sun he moved his studio to a sleepy town called Hollywood.

Griffiths are champions. The American professional boxer Emile Griffiths (b.1938) has won five world titles, while Terry Griffiths (b.1947) won the world’s snooker champion­ship in 1979.

This name is relatively rarely incorporated in towns and geographic features. In the United Kingdom there are towns called Griff and Griffithstown, the United States has a Griffithville and a Griffin while Australia has a Griffith, which is also the name of a Canadian island.

With about 117,000 namesakes Griffiths is the 47th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Griffiths is notably popular in and around Cardiff where an estimated one in about 130 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol are other Griffiths strongholds. Around the world Griffiths’s are most common in Canberra (one in 767 families), Auckland (one in 869) and Sydney (one in 1,020). The United States has more Griffiths’s than the entire population of Doncaster-an estimated total of just over 309,000 makes this their 54th most popular surname.