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"

House of Godwin

 * Ancestry of the Godwins
 * Godwin, Earl of Wessex (died 1053), earl in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great
 * Harold Godwinson
 * Edmund, son of Harold Godwinson
 * Godwin, son of Harold Godwinson
 * Harold, son of Harold Godwinson
 * Magnus, son of Harold Godwinson
 * Ulf, son of Harold Godwinson
 * Gyrth Godwinson
 * Sweyn Godwinson
 * Tostig Godwinson
 * Leofwine Godwinson
 * Wulfnoth Godwinson

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
 * 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
 * Jack Godwin (1904-1973), English conjurer and magician
 * 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

 * Billy Godwin (born 1964), American college baseball coach
 * Chris Godwin (born 1996), American football player
 * Jack Godwin (born 1904), British Olympic rower
 * 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
 * Elizabeth Godwin, British army captain and first female officer of The Life Guards
 * 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)

Given name

 * Godwin Emefiele, Nigerian banker
 * Godwin Igwebuike (born 1994), American football player
 * Godwin Olofua, Nigerian badminton player
 * Godwin Samararatne, Sri Lankan teacher

Fictional characters

 * Neil Godwin, from The Office

Places

 * Godwin, North Carolina
 * Godwin-Austen Glacier

Other uses

 * General Godwin, convict ship
 * "Godwin" (song), a song by Nigerian artiste Korede Bello
 * Godwin's law on comparison with Nazis, named after American lawyer Mike Godwin
 * Mills E. Godwin High School