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Origin / History of the Goddard Name

This name is of Norman origin, and is from the personal name ‘Golhard’.  Composed of the Germanic elements ‘god’, meaning good, and ‘hard’, meaning hardy, brave, or strong.  Introduced into Britain by the Normans after the Invasion of 1066, and it was popular in Europe during the Middle Ages as a result of the fame of St. Goddard, an 11^th  Century Bishop of Hildesheim, who founded a hospice on the pass from Switzerland to Italy.  The personal name was first recorded in Lincolnshire in circa 1160 - 1166, with one Godardus de Clakesbi while the first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert God(d)ard, in the 1208 ‘Curia Rolls of Hampshire.  Other early recordings of the surname include; Wlfrich Godard in Norfolk, 1221; and Symon Godhard in Cambridgeshire, 1221.  An interesting name bearer, recorded in the ‘Dictionary of National Biography’, is John Goddard (1645 - 1571), an engraver, whose work, the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ is displayed in the British Museum.  The name is recorded as a surname in variant forms throughout Europe, such as: Godard and Godart in England; Goudard and Godar in France; Gotthard, Godehard and Goddert in Germany; and Goedhard and Goedhart in Holland.  

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