Gott
An old English surname that may come from a personal name meaning “good” or, in some cases, from a place by a water-channel.
The #6,757 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,885 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has more than one plausible source. Some historical writers connect it with an old baptismal name or nickname related to "good"—a form found alongside names like Good and Goodison—while others treat it as a shortened or altered form of an older personal name such as Godard. A separate line of explanation links it to local names for a drain, gutter, or mill-water channel, especially in northern England. The spelling and origins may therefore vary by family line.
History
The name is recorded in medieval England and later appears in several regional English contexts, especially Yorkshire. Nineteenth-century surname scholars disagreed about whether the main source was a personal name, a nickname, or a topographic term, which suggests that different branches may have different origins. It has remained a relatively uncommon surname in modern English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older dialect writing, a "gott" or "goyt" could mean a water-channel from a mill-dam, which is one reason this surname sometimes looks more like a place-name than a family name.
From the historical record
“land. GOTT. Ap]iarcntly an old baptismal name. "Will lif Gotte. H.E. GOTIIAED. 1. Either Godard, the personal name, or Goat-lierd.. 2. A foolish fellow. Norlii. llalliwcll. Probably because GOR 135”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Gott
- Karel Gott (1939–2019)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.