Gottschalk
A German surname meaning “God’s servant,” from an old personal name built on a word for God and a word for servant.
The #6,733 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,626 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gottschalk comes from the Old High German personal name Gottschalk, built from got, meaning “God,” and a second element meaning “servant” or “retainer.” The name was originally a given name with the sense “servant of God,” later becoming a hereditary surname. Older scholarship sometimes glossed the second element more poetically or loosely, but the basic meaning is clear.
History
The name was in use as a medieval personal name in German-speaking areas and also appears in early English records in forms such as Godescalde and Godescall. As a surname, it is especially associated with Germany and later German-speaking immigrant families. English bearers today are often descended from more recent continental immigrants rather than from the older medieval English forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Medieval Latin and local spellings often reshaped the name, which is why historical records can show several very different-looking forms for the same underlying surname.
From the historical record
“GOTTHARD (Ger.) see Goddard in Diet. GOTTSCHALK (Ger.) God's Servant [O.H.Ger. Got (genit. Gates) + scale, servant] GRAF GRAF GRAFF (Ger.) Earl, Count [Ger. graf,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)