# 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"

## Surname or only known name
### 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 Abbe (1949–2024), Nigerian politician
* Godwin Akwaji (died 2020), Nigerian politician
* 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