The Gott surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,989 people carried this name — #6,757 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 59,200 people counted. That is up 3% from 4,850 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Gott surname

Possibly from German Gott ("God").

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gott» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the gott’.

An early record he cites: Johannes del Gote, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 331 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Gott was found among the farmers of Yorkshire, West Riding: 8 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Yorkshire, West Riding 8

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

29 families named Gott, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 162 people lived in those households, 5.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 8
Maine 6
Maryland 6
New York 3
Connecticut 2
New Hampshire 1
Vermont 1
Rhode Island 1
North Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 242 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Gott in American newspapers,
1908.

Newspaper page from Goodwin's Weekly : A Thinking Paper For Thinking People carrying the name Gott
Goodwin's Weekly : A Thinking Paper For Thinking People 1908-12-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Gott in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

4,646 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gott. The most, 1,249, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 2,191
New South Wales 1,057
Victoria 608
South Australia 347
Tasmania 233
Western Australia 167
ACT (Canberra) 23
Northern Territory 15

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gott.

Who carried it

People named Gott,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Benjamin Gott
    Benjamin Gott 1762–1840 · businessperson
  • Daniel Gott
    Daniel Gott 1794–1864 · lawyer
  • John Gott
    John Gott 1830–1906 · bishop
  • Samuel Gott 1614–1671 · politician
  • Peter Gott 1653–1712 · politician
  • Samuel Gott 1682–1725 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Gott,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States575 records

575 records of the Gott name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 169
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 109
  • Other U.S. records 297
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Herman B. Gott

    Born 1922 in Missouri. Enlisted 1944 at Jefferson Barracks; secondary school teacher. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Rodney Herschel Gott

    Born 1947; from Miami, Florida. U.S. Air Force; killed in action 1969 in Laos. Buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eide Gott

    Arrived at New York in 1887 aboard the Werra from Bremen and Southampton, aged 16; farmer. From Bremen, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 575 records for Gott in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia115 records

115 records of the Gott name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 86
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 12
  • Other Australian records 17
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Gott

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Theresa, arriving 1839.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas Gott

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Kate, aged 36; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Allan L. Gott

    Book keeper of Moonee Ponds, Victoria; died 1900.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 115 records for Gott in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Germany59 records

59 records of the Gott name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 57
  • German emigration and citizenship files 2
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Adolf Gott

    Born 1899; from Eppstein, Wiesbaden. Reported wounded in the Saxon casualty list of 4 January 1917.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Katharina Barbara Gött

    Emigrated to North America in 1854.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (CC0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Peter Gött

    Emigrated to Australia in 1854.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (CC0)

Showing 3 of 59 records for Gott in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

New Zealand16 records

16 records of the Gott name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 15
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Cornelia Gott

    Died 1952, aged 76; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Gott

    Buried in 1901 at Tararu Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 74.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph Gott

    Died 1912, aged 76; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Gott in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada13 records

13 records of the Gott name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Other Canadian records 6
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alf Gott

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Sarmatian, landing at Halifax, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Gary Henry Gott

    Died 1988, aged 33; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Margaret Gott

    Buried in 1912 at Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.

Showing 3 of 13 records for Gott in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom8 records

8 records of the Gott name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • Welsh wills index cards 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Herbert Gott

    Will proved in 1935; of Wrexham, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record B. Gott

    Driver, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Annie Eleanor Gott

    Will proved in 1941; of Colwyn Bay, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Gott in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France5 records

5 records of the Gott name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Antoinette Marie Therese Gott

    Born 1923 in Hagondange (Moselle); died 1987 in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Charles Othon Henri Gott

    Born 1913 in Strasbourg; died 2000 in Saverne (Bas-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Josephine Marie Gott

    Born 1900 in Otterswiller; died 1981 in Hœrdt (Bas-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Gott in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands4 records

4 records of the Gott name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Theresia Gött

    Married in 1918 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jean François Gott

    In the population register of Leeuwarden; born 1841.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Gott in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Belgium2 records

2 records of the Gott name in Belgium
  • Belgian population registers 1
  • Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Catharina Elisabeth Gott

    Died 1857 in Denderwindeke.

    Open Archives, Erfgoedcel Denderland (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Melania Gott

    In the population register of Brussel; "vondeling", born 1856 in Brussel.

    Open Archives, Erfgoedcel Denderland (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gott.

When the index is not enough

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