Griffen
A surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Griffin or Griffith, ultimately from a personal name meaning “gryphon” or “strong/lordly one.”
The #9,314 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,339 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Griffen is generally understood as a variant spelling of Griffin, and in some cases may also overlap with Griffith-derived forms. Griffin itself can come from the Welsh personal name Gruffudd, which was later Anglicized in many spellings, or from the medieval given name Griffin/Griffin, associated by folk etymology with the gryphon. The deeper origin of the Welsh name is usually explained as combining elements meaning “chief” or “strong” with a second element of uncertain sense.
History
This surname appears in several spellings across Britain and Ireland, where local pronunciation and clerical spelling often produced forms such as Griffen, Griffen, Griffin, and Griffith. In later records it also spread to North America through migration from the British Isles. Because the spellings overlap, some bearers may descend from different original surnames that later converged in written form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In old records, Griffen and Griffin can be hard to separate, because many surnames were spelled purely by ear and standardized only much later.
From the historical record
“[Gribben\ i Griffen. Griffey. 198 Grifflris. [Griffith]. 1 316,517.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland