How popular is the baby name Godiva in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Godiva.

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Popularity of the baby name Godiva


Posts that mention the name Godiva

Name change: Edith to Matilda

Matilda (or Maud) of Scotland - Queen of England, Duchess of Normandy
Queen Matilda (also called Maud)

Henry I — one of the sons of William the Conqueror, England’s first Norman king — ruled England from 1100 to 1135.

About two months after Henry was crowned king, he married Eadgyth [Edith], the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland.

When she was crowned Queen of England, Eadgyth promptly dropped her Anglo-Saxon baptismal name and adopted the Germanic name Matilda (which had also been the name of Henry’s late mother).

From then on, she was known as either Matilda or Maud.

Why the name change?

Because “Matilda” was a name favored by the Normans. As historian Robert Bartlett put it, “A lot of people changed their names [following the Norman Conquest] because they wanted to pass in polite society — they didn’t want to be mistaken for a peasant, marked out with an Anglo-Saxon name.”

In fact, Norman nobles liked to mock the couple by calling them Godric and Godiva, both of which are Anglo-Saxon names. “Godric and Godiva were the Jack and Jill of their period.”

Sources:

Image: Queen Maud (14th cen.)

Popular Elizabethan names

What were the top names of the Elizabethan era?

Elea of British Baby Names recently published a great list of names popular during the Elizabethan era (late 16th century) in the Norfolk region. Here are the top 10 names for each gender:

Male NamesFemale Names
1. John
2. Thomas
3. William
4. Robert
5. Richard
6. Edward
7. Henry
8. Edmund
9. Nicholas
10. James
1. Elizabeth
2. Margaret
3. Mary
4. Ann
5. Agnes
6. Alice
7. Dorothy
8. Joan
9. Katherine
10. Bridget

I thought it would be fun to compare this list to a couple of earlier historical name lists from England, so here are the most common names from King Henry III’s fine rolls (13th century):

Male NamesFemale Names
1. William
2. John
3. Richard
4. Robert
5. Henry
6. Ralph
7. Thomas
8. Walter
9. Roger
10. Hugh
1. Alice
2. Matilda
3. Agnes
4. Margaret
5. Joan
6. Isabella
7. Emma
8. Beatrice
9. Mabel
10. Cecilia

And, even further back, here are the most-mentioned male names and female names in the Domesday book (11th century):

Male NamesFemale Names
1. William
2. Robert
3. Ralph
4. Aelfric
5. Alwin
5. Hugh
7. Roger
8. Godwin
9. Walter
10. Godric
1. Aldgyth
2. Aelfeva
2. Leofeva
2. Wulfeva
5. Bricteva
5. Edeva
7. Emma
7. Godiva
9. Goda
10. Edith

The last two lists may not represent the top given names of their time periods very accurately, but they do give you a sense of how given names in England have changed over time.

Female names in the Domesday Book

Page of the Domesday Book

We looked at names from King Henry III’s fine rolls (13th century) a couple of weeks ago, so now let’s go back a bit further and look at names from the Domesday Book (11th century).

What is the Domesday Book?

It’s a land survey, compiled in 1086, that covered much of England and parts of Wales.

The Domesday Book provides extensive records of landholders, their tenants, the amount of land they owned, how many people occupied the land (villagers, smallholders, free men, slaves, etc.), the amounts of woodland, meadow, animals, fish and ploughs on the land (if there were any) and other resources, any buildings present (churches, castles, mills, salthouses, etc.), and the whole purpose of the survey – the value of the land and its assets, before the Norman Conquest, after it, and at the time of Domesday.

The book is held at The National Archives in London, but its contents are available online at Open Domesday.

Most of the names in the Domesday Book are male, as most landowners were men. So, to be different (and to make things easier!) I thought I’d focus on the women.

The female names below appeared in the Open Domesday database just once, except where noted. (Multiple mentions don’t necessarily speak to name popularity, as this is not a representative sample of 11th-century people. Also, some individuals are simply mentioned in the book more than once.)

A

  • Adelaide
  • Adelina (2)
  • Adeliza
  • Aeldiet
  • Aeleva (3)
  • Aelfeva (9)
  • Aelfgyth (4)
  • Aelfrun
  • Aelfthryth
  • Aelgeat
  • Aelgyth
  • Aelrun
  • Aethelfled
  • Aethelgyth
  • Agnes (2)
  • Ailhilla
  • Aldeva
  • Aldgyth (13)
  • Aldhild
  • Aldwif
  • Aleifr
  • Aleva
  • Alfhild (3)
  • Alfled (3)
  • Alswith
  • Althryth
  • Alware
  • Alweis
  • Alwynn (2)
  • Asa
  • Asmoth
  • Azelina

B

  • Beatrix
  • Bothild
  • Bricteva (8)
  • Brictfled
  • Brictgyth

C

  • Christina
  • Cwenhild
  • Cwenleofu
  • Cwenthryth

D

  • Deorwynn
  • Dove

E

  • Edeva (8)
  • Edhild
  • Edith (5)
  • Edlufu
  • Egelfride
  • Emma (7)
  • Estrild
  • Eva

G

  • Goda (6)
  • Gode (2)
  • Godelind
  • Godesa
  • Godgyth (4)
  • Goldhild
  • Godhyse
  • Godiva (7)
  • Godrun
  • Goldeva
  • Goldrun
  • Gudhridh
  • Gunild (2)
  • Gunwor
  • Guthrun
  • Gytha (4)

H

  • Heloise (2)
  • Hawise

I

  • Ida
  • Ingifrith
  • Ingrith
  • Isolde

J

  • Judith

L

  • Lefleda
  • Leodfled
  • Leofcwen
  • Leofeva (9)
  • Leoffled (4)
  • Leofgyth
  • Leofhild
  • Leofrun
  • Leofsidu
  • Leofswith
  • Leofwaru
  • Leohteva

M

  • Matilda (3)
  • Mawa
  • Menleva
  • Mereswith
  • Merwynn
  • Mild
  • Modeva
  • Molleva
  • Muriel

O

  • Odfrida
  • Odil
  • Odolina
  • Oia
  • Olova
  • Oseva

Q

  • Queneva

R

  • Regnild
  • Rohais (2)

S

  • Saegyth
  • Saehild
  • Saelufu
  • Saewaru
  • Saieva
  • Sigrith
  • Skialdfrith
  • Stanfled
  • Sunneva

T

  • Tela
  • Thorild
  • Thorlogh
  • Tova
  • Tovild
  • Turorne
  • Tutfled

W

  • Wigfled
  • Wulfeva (9)
  • Wulffled (2)
  • Wulfgyth
  • Wulfrun
  • Wulfwaru (2)
  • Wulfwynn (2)

See anything you like?

Also, did you notice the names of Scandinavian origin (e.g., Guthrun, Ingrith, Sigrith)? “These names are most numerous in the eastern half of the country, particularly Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This is precisely where, as we know from other evidence, there was a substantial settlement of Scandinavian immigrants.”

Update, Feb. 2013: Here are the Male Names in the Domesday Book.

Sources:

Image: Domesday Book for Warwickshire (public domain)

[Latest update: July 2023]

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2008

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Ready for some rankings?

Here are England and Wales’ top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2008:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 5,325 baby girls
  2. Ruby, 4,931
  3. Emily, 4,881
  4. Grace, 4,775
  5. Jessica, 4,672
  6. Chloe, 4,605
  7. Sophie, 4,380
  8. Lily, 4,047
  9. Amelia, 3,440
  10. Evie, 3,281
  11. Mia, 3,121
  12. Ella, 3,042
  13. Charlotte, 2,939
  14. Lucy, 2,876
  15. Megan, 2,515
  16. Ellie, 2,505
  17. Isabelle, 2,460
  18. Isabella, 2,424
  19. Hannah, 2,335
  20. Katie, 2,324

Boy Names

  1. Jack, 8,010 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 7,417
  3. Thomas, 6,062
  4. Harry, 6,008
  5. Joshua, 5,716
  6. Alfie, 5,566
  7. Charlie, 5,291
  8. Daniel, 5,191
  9. James, 5,170
  10. William, 5,169
  11. Samuel, 4,624
  12. George, 4,214
  13. Joseph, 3,764
  14. Lewis, 3,482
  15. Ethan, 3,451
  16. Mohammed, 3,442
  17. Dylan, 3,373
  18. Benjamin, 3,275
  19. Alexander, 3,215
  20. Jacob, 3,127

Intriguingly, the name Honey ranked 190th on the girls’ list. A whopping 279 baby girls got the name. In contrast, just 90 U.S. baby girls were named Honey that year, and the name has never once cracked the U.S. top 1,000. I wonder what accounts for the relative popularity of Honey overseas.

Finally, here are some of the names that were used less often in 2008…

Uncommon Girl NamesUncommon Boy Names
Bluebell (20 baby girls), Primrose (17), Temperance (13), Breeze (11), Cleopatra (11), Sorrel (11), Tigerlily (9), Tirion (9), Comfort (8), Peaches (8), Pebbles (8), Beyonce (7), Miami (7), Zinnia (7), Godiva (6), Mercades (5), Panashe (5), Tulip (5), Wednesday (5), Magenta (4), Boadicea (3), Cayenne (3), Kimora-Lee (3), Plum (3), Rejoice (3)Spike (23 baby boys), Willoughby (22), Ziggy (20), Ptolemy (19), Zidane (13), Zinedine (12), Kal-El (10), Hendrix (9), Humphrey (8), Elan (6), Gruff (6), Legend (6), Achilles (5), Amen (5), Bright (5), Jesse-James (5), Tennyson (5), Darlington (4), James-Dean (4), Courage (3), Freedom (3), Messiah (3), Remus (3), Riquelme (3), Seven (3)

What are your thoughts on these rankings/names?

Sources: Office for National Statistics, England & Wales Baby Names

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)