The name Goodyer reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Goodyer family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Goodyer is based on the given names Gudhir, or Gudvar, which were popular medieval names of Germanic origin. [1]
Another source notes that the name could have originated from the Middle English goodyeare, goodier, goodere, goodye(e)re meaning 'good year', as in "an expletive used in questions, 'What the good year?' Possibly elliptic for 'as I hope to have a good year' " [2]
The Domesday Book of 1086 has the first record of the family as Godere and Goderus (Latin). [3]
The surname Goodyer was first found in Huntingdonshire, where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Cest' Godyer. [4]
"Goodyear, which is now a Lincolnshire name, was represented 600 years ago by Godyer in the adjacent county of Huntingdonshire." [5]
John Godeyer, was listed in the Close Rolls, 10 Richard II (during the tenth year of Richard II's reign.)
The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus Goddeyere; Simon Godeycre, smyth; and Willelmus Godcyere as all holding lands there at that time. [4]
Charles Goodyear (1800-1860) the American inventor and patent holder of vulcanized rubber was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His father was a descendant of Stephen Goodyear (c. 1598-1658) born in London, who emigrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Goodyer research. Another 223 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1295, 1285, 1301, 1296, 1301, 1327, 1456, 1467, 1513, 1566, 1682, 1327, 1500, 1613, 1626, 1627, 1636, 1600, 1592, 1664, 1687 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Goodyer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Goodyer are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Goodyer include Goodyear, Goodier and others.
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Goodyer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Goodyer, or a variant listed above:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: