English (Yorkshire): nickname for a friendly or amiable person,
from Middle English gode ‘good’ + will ‘desire’. The
compound is attested in the sense ‘favorable disposition’ since before
the Norman Conquest.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The goodwill name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the goodwill family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the goodwill last name.