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Surname Etymology and Meaning of GRIFFIN

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

A name given to a noted man, whose qualities or disposition, in some respects, resembled this fabulous creature. Griffwn, in Welsh, is applied to a man having a crooked nose, like a hawk's bill. Gryffyn, in the Cornish British, signifies "to give." It may be the same as Griffith.

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857).

1. Welsh: from a medieval Latinized form, Griffinus, of the Welsh personal name Gruffudd (see Griffith).
2. English: nickname for a fierce or dangerous person, from Middle English griffin ‘gryphon’ (from Latin gryphus, Greek gryps, of Assyrian origin).
3. Irish: Anglicized (part translated) form of Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha ‘descendant of Gríobhtha’, a personal name from gríobh ‘gryphon’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)