What is the significance of the name Godhigh? How does Julian’s attitude towards his ancestors and towards the Godhigh family home reflect the central conflict of the story?

Julian's mother takes great pride in the fact that his grandmother "'was a Godhigh.'" To his mother, this means that Julian should take great pride in his family and his heritage, because his ancestors were prosperous and powerful. She believes that her parents' and grandparents' status and identity are part and parcel of her own, and Julian completely disagrees. He says that

"Knowing who you are is good for one generation only. You haven't the foggiest idea where you stand now or who you are."

The name itself seems symbolic, as though the Godhigh family felt that they were as powerful as gods, even when they fell to "'reduced circumstances.'" Julian's mother asserts that they never forgot who they were, as though their high status and all it entailed--the manners, the traditions, the graciousness (their general superiority)-- kept them above everyone else, even when their wealth no longer could.
Julian's attitude toward all this reflects his feelings about the past in general: that it is really meaningless and that people have to look toward the future. To Julian, who one's parents or grandparents were has no bearing on who one is today. His mother thinks exactly the opposite, and so the two butt heads.