The Godiva chocolate brand is named after which historical figure?

The Godiva chocolate brand is named after Lady Godiva.

Godiva was founded in Brussels in 1926 by the Draps family. The name refers to Lady Godiva, the eleventh-century English noblewoman associated with the famous Coventry legend in which she rides through the city with her body covered by her long hair.

The brand’s logo and packaging have traditionally used an image of Lady Godiva on horseback. This gives the company a medieval-inspired identity even though the chocolatier itself began in the twentieth century.

Lady Godiva was a historical person, but the well-known riding story is partly legendary and was written down centuries after her lifetime. The brand name therefore connects modern Belgian chocolate with a famous figure from English medieval tradition.