goddaughter
Americannoun
-
goddaughters
plural
noun
Usage
What does goddaughter mean? A goddaughter is a girl who’s the godchild of one or more godparents—people who have pledged to help with her upbringing, especially in a religious way. In some denominations of Christianity, when a child is baptized, they are sponsored by (usually two) adults who pledge to help in this way. Those adults are the child’s godparents, and the child is their godchild. Goddaughters are often related to their godparents (a girl might be her aunt’s goddaughter, for example), but they don’t need to be. Godparents also often pledge to become the godchild’s guardian if needed (in the event that the child’s parents die). These terms are all sometimes applied outside of a religious context—parents may choose close relatives or friends to act as godparents for their children without any religious aspect to the relationship. A godparent can still refer to their godchild with that term even after the child becomes an adult. Example: Some people are godparents in name only, but Kelly and Chris spend as much time as they can with their goddaughter.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goddaughter
before 1050; Middle English; Old English goddohtor; see origin at god, daughter
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The song was falsely credited to pop singer Miley Cyrus, Dolly’s goddaughter..
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Anyone who listens to this single on Cyrus’ 2017 album, “Younger Now,” can hear Parton’s bubbly voice behind that of her goddaughter, nestled between samples of phone messages the legend left for the pop songstress.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
“I will always love her and want to make her proud,” Miley Cyrus, who was Parton’s goddaughter, wrote on Instagram.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026
Epstein declined, saying he had promised his goddaughter he "would not be godfather to anyone else".
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
Luckily, she didn’t know I was goddaughter to a fairy cook.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
She's Royal tells the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta and Sophia Duleep Singh and how they became goddaughters to the monarch.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2022
Carr plans on calling her goddaughters after she celebrates with thousands of other Black women at a conference later today.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 30, 2022
She chose most of her goddaughters at birth — asking their parents if she could fulfill the role — and relishes the way they keep her “totally young and up on everything.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2020
He is survived by his partner, Marler, and his goddaughters — Dorian and Dorian’s own daughter, Sarah Haspel.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2019
She can take her eight other goddaughters, if they want to stand her quarreling with every single person in authority—I won't let her have my girl.
From Highacres by Harriet Roosevelt Richards
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
