The Gough surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,584 people carried this name — #4,132 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 34,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 8,408 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Gough surname

As a Welsh surname, from coch (“red”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gough» (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 nickname: ‘the red-complexioned’.

An early record he cites: Robert Gogh, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 30 births for the Gough name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The count includes the spelling Goff. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin and Waterford.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 15
Munster 10
Ulster 4
Connacht 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

25 people named Gough live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 10
Basel-Stadt 8
Solothurn 4
Valais 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 21 people named Gough.

Most of them — 21 — were born outside France.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 21

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

27 people named Gough is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 27

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Gough was found among the farmers of 4 counties.

It was most frequent in Shropshire: 29 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 345. 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

Shropshire 29
Wiltshire 27
Herefordshire 24
Buckinghamshire 20

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 Scotland’s registers today

Gough was recorded 18 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1248th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 20. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Gough in American newspapers,
1884–1917.

Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Gough
The Salt Lake Herald 1884-05-28
Newspaper page from The Robesonian carrying the name Gough
The Robesonian 1917-01-08
Newspaper page from Bill Barlow's Budget carrying the name Gough
Bill Barlow's Budget 1905-03-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,577 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gough in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2000s.

48,995 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gough. The most, 8,328, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 18,834
Queensland 10,272
Victoria 9,504
Tasmania 4,285
Western Australia 2,638
South Australia 2,049
ACT (Canberra) 868
Northern Territory 56

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

Who carried it

People named Gough,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Prudence Carnan Gough
    Prudence Carnan Gough 1755–1822
  • Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough
    Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough 1779–1869 · military personnel
  • Charles Gough
    Charles Gough 1784–1805 · painter
  • Henry Gough
    Henry Gough 1812–1862 · rector
  • John Bartholomew Gough
    John Bartholomew Gough 1817–1886 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 290 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Gough,
in the records of 8 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 States1,722 records

1,722 records of the Gough name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 489
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 436
  • Other U.S. records 797
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Stanford Morris Gough

    Born 1948; from Salem, Oregon. U.S. Army, central office switchboard operator; died in an accident 1968 in Gia Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James C. Gough

    Born 1907 in Maryland. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Myer, Virginia; auto mechanic from Washington, D.C. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Quantico National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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 Lizzie Gough

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 30; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 1,722 records for Gough in the United States.

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

Australia1,480 records

1,480 records of the Gough name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 669
  • Tasmanian Names Index 292
  • Other Australian records 519
  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 Ann Gough

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Majestic, sailing from London in 1838. Native of St Martin's, Shropshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840. Married 1840 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Richard Gough

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Auckland, sailing from Dublin in 1846. Native of Dublin, Dublin. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michl Gough

    Arrived in Victoria in 1858 aboard the John Owens, aged 40; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,480 records for Gough in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Canada326 records

326 records of the Gough name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 237
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 20
  • Other Canadian records 69
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Elizabeth Gough

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 37; buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jos Gough

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Austrian, landing at Portland, bound for London, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Austen E. Gough

    Buried in 1983 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 68.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 326 records for Gough in Canada.

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

United Kingdom95 records

95 records of the Gough name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 69
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 11
  • Other British records 15
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jason Gough

    Died 1999, aged 22; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Jane Gough

    Will proved in 1941; of Tudweiliog, Carnarvon.

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

    Manchester Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 95 records for Gough in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); 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).

New Zealand45 records

45 records of the Gough name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 40
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 3
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edith L. Gough

    Died 1913, aged 32; buried at Addington 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 Michael Gough

    Buried in 1930 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 82.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Dennis Eric Bertram Gough

    Born 1921, died 1999; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 45 records for Gough in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Gough 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 Frances Rosamond Gough

    Born 1938 in Watford (Angleterre); died 2001 in Montpellier (Hérault).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Gough 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Gough name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Mary Winifred Gough

    In the population register of Shrewsbury, England; born 1912 in Shrewsbury, England.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Gough name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Eustace Henry Gough

    Married in 1946 in Moorsel; born 1912 in Liverpool Engeland.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Gough.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gough.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gough is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Gough volume
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