Show ContentsGodbold History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Godbold family

The surname Godbold was first found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where Godeboldus was the first record of the family. [1]

Later, Adara filius Goboldi was listed in Essex and later again, William Godebald was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Bedfordshire in 1206 . Early Devon records include Henry Gobaud, Gubaut there in 1242 and later, John Gobaut was listed in Wales in 1316. A year later, back in Essex, John Godebold was listed in the Feet of Fines in 1317. [2]

Early History of the Godbold family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Godbold research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1210, 1242, 1455, 1487, 1548, 1549, 1553, 1604, 1611, 1627, 1636, 1647, 1648, 1721, 1759 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Godbold History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Godbold Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Godbold, Goodbold, Godbald, Godball, Goodball, Gobat, Godbolt, Goodbolt, Goodbow and many more.

Early Notables of the Godbold family

Distinguished members of the family include Robert Goadby (1721-1778), English printer and compiler, of Sherborne, Dorsetshire. "He was an indefatigable bookmaker. His greatest production was the ‘Illustration of the Holy Scriptures,’ in three large folio volumes (1759). Goadby also compiled and printed a popular book entitled ‘The Christian's Instructor and Pocket Companion, extracted from the Holy Scriptures,’ which was approved by Bishop Sherlock. [3]John Godbolt (d. 1648), was an English judge from a family settled at Toddington, Suffolk. ". He was admitted a member of Barnard's Inn on 2 May, and of Gray's Inn 16 Nov., 1604, and was called to...
Another 105 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Godbold Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Godbold Ranking

In the United States, the name Godbold is the 16,150th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [4]


United States Godbold migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Godbold Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • George Godbold, who landed in Mobile County, Ala in 1842 [5]

Australia Godbold migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Godbold Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Godbold, English convict who was convicted in Beccles, Suffolk, England for 6 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 11th March 1863, arriving in Western Australia, Australia [6]

Contemporary Notables of the name Godbold (post 1700) +

  • Jake Maurice Godbold (1934-2020), American politician, Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, 1979-1987 [7]
  • Lucille Godbold, distinguished American athlete who won a gold medal at the First International Track Meet for Women in Paris
  • Norman Dozier Godbold (1877-1936), American Democratic Party politician, Circuit Judge in Hawaii; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Hawaii Territory, 1924 [7]
  • Norman D. Godbold Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Hawaii Territory, 1940 [7]
  • Catherine Malia Godbold (1975-2018), Australian actress who died from brain cancer at the age of 43
  • Daryl Martin Godbold (b. 1964), former professional footballer


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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