Griffith

Spellings & scripts●(measured from records)

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●(measured from records)

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Often considered alongside

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Griffith, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Opie
• Andy
• Percival
• Otis
• Duncan
• Emrys
• Howell
• Gareth
• Forrest
• Idris
• Ivor
• Obie

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Other names spelled this way◐(inferred from the name graph)

Griffith is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Gri-Ffith, Grïffìth

• Greek surname2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom

  Also written Γκριφιθ

63 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●(measured from records)

Griffith is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, from Welsh Gruffudd, noted in Wales in 1150; first attested Gruffyd ap Madog Vnyon 1392 Chirk. The second element means ‘chief’.

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• Welsh: Anglicized form of Gruffudd or Griffudd, Old Welsh Grip(p)iud. The second element of this means ‘lord, prince’; the first is of uncertain origin. Gruffydd ap Llewellyn (d. 1063) was one of the most able rulers of Wales in the Middle Ages, scoring some notable victories over the English until he was eventually defeated by King Harold in 1063. Short form: Griff.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• from the Old Welsh personal name Gruffudd, Old Welsh Grip(p)iud, composed of the elements grip, of uncertain significance, + iud ‘chief’, ‘lord’.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• composed of the elements griff, of uncertain significance + udd chief, lord. Var.: Griffin. Patrs.: Griffi(th)s. Patrs. (from dims.): Gittoes, Gittus. Griffoul Provengal: topographic name for someone who lived by a holly tree, OProv. griffoul (L acrifolium, from acer, gen. acris, sharp, pointed + folium leaf). See also Acevedo. Vars.: Agrifoul, Aigrefeuille, Greffu(e)lhe, Grifuel, Grifoul.

  as a name·A dictionary of surnames

• In French, Nom gallois, forme de Gruffudd; étymologie obscure, souvent liée à « chef puissant ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Notable people with this name●(measured from records)

• Arthur Griffithb. 1872IEIrish politician and writer, founder of Sinn Féin (1871–1922)
• D. W. Griffithb. 1875USAmerican filmmaker (1875–1948)
• Frederick Griffithb. 1877GBBritish bacteriologist
• Hugh Griffithb. 1912GBWelsh actor (1912–1980)
• Andy Griffithb. 1926USAmerican actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer (1926–2012)
• Emile Griffithb. 1938USAmerican boxer (1938–2013)
• Melanie Griffithb. 1957USAmerican actress
• Florence Griffith-Joynerb. 1959USAmerican track and field athlete (1959-1998)
• Nicola Griffithb. 1960GBBritish-American writer (b. 1960)
• Thomas Ian Griffithb. 1962USAmerican actor, screenwriter, producer, musician, and martial artist (born 1962)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

How to address them○(machine-generated)

Evidence●(measured from records)

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Griffith mean, and where does it come from?

From the Old Welsh male personal name Gruffydd; second syllable is udd ‘lord’, but the first element is uncertain. Recorded by Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history].

What are other forms of the name Griffith?

In the etymology graph, Griffin is a form of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Griffith?

A machine transcription gives /ɡɹɪfɪθ/ (IPA) for English.

In which country does Griffith have the most bearers?

Mondonomo estimates about 447 thousand people named Griffith in China, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled griffith.

Where is Griffith most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Griffith is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 333 people — even though China holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Griffith?

In the United States, the national register counted 78,260 people named Griffith in 2010, about 1 in 4.3 thousand residents.

How common is Griffith compared with other names?

In Guyana, Griffith is the 12th most common surname of 15,834 surnames recorded there.