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recorded as Griff, Griffe, Grief, Greif, Greiffe, Greive, Gryffe and others, this is an Olde English and Welsh surname. In origin it is pre 7th century name and is a short form of the Welsh personal name "Grippiud", the modern Griffith. The normal pronunciation of the name in South Wales became "Griffidd", and those medieval scribes who were not Welsh generally wrote Griff or Griffith as being the closest phonetic spelling within their writing system. The form as Griffith and the patronymic Griffiths came to be used almost universally, as forename and surname, throughout Wales. The first element of the name Griff, is of uncertain origin, but is thought to mean "strong grip", and when it occurs the second element "iudd" means chief or lord.
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