Surname Goetzen - Meaning and Origin
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Goetzen: What does the surname Goetzen mean?
The last name Goetzen is an occupational name derived from an old German word, "goetz" or "goetze", which is used to refer to a "steward". It indicates that the original bearer of the name had a job as a steward, managing the land and the people on behalf of a nobleman. It also refers to the profession of looking after stretches of forest and the people living in them.
The surname can also be found throughout the Germanic countries of Europe and in some parts of the United States. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages when the name was used to designate the managerial duties of a steward.
In Germany, the name Goetzen became very popular around the 14th century when wealthy families needed to appoint caretakers to look after their estates. As a result, the name Goetz was adopted by many families who had a surname related to its meaning.
Today, the surname is still carried by many families, either due to inheritance or having taken it on due to marriage. It remains a common surname throughout Europe, and in the United States, suggesting that the name continues to hold a special meaning for many people.
Order DNA origin analysisGoetzen: Where does the name Goetzen come from?
The last name Goetzen is most commonly found today in Germany and other German-speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland. The name Goetzen has ancient German roots, derived from the Germanic personal name Godehard or Godhard. The name is composed of two elements: gōd, meaning “good” or “God”, and hart, meaning “brave” or “strong”.
Within Germany, the vast majority of people named Goetzen live in the northern state of Lower Saxony. Data from popular genealogy website Geni.com shows that the city of Osnabrück in particular has the highest population of Goetzens in the country, followed by neighbouring cities such as Oldenburg and Hagen.
The name Goetzen is also quite common in other German-speaking countries, and is sprinkled across local telephone directories in Austria and Switzerland. The name Goetzen may actually be more common in these countries than in Germany.
There are even small clusters of Goetzens living in the United States today, mainly concentrated in Pennsylvania, where many German immigrants settled during the 19th century. The Goetzen name is still quite rare in the US however, with only around 700 people bearing the Goetzen name nationwide.
Overall, the name Goetzen is most commonly found in Germany and other German-speaking countries, but small pockets of Goetzens also exist elsewhere in the world, including the United States.
Variations of the surname Goetzen
The surname Goetzen is believed to have originated from the ancient Germanic name "Goths". The Goetz or Götz variant of the surname is the most common, with Goetzen being a more infrequently used spelling. The Goetsen variant is used in Flanders, and Götzin is used in East Prussia.
Goetzen is also an anglicized version of the names Götz, Götze, Götsch, Goetsch, Goetscher, Goetzmann, Gützke, and Güttsch . Similarly, modern variants such as Gaetz, Gätz, Geetz, Geets, Geek, Göcke, Goiz, Gojaski, Goess, Goss, Gottsch, and Kötsch are thought to be related to the original surname.
The Gaal surname is also derived from the same roots as Goetzen, meaning “forest”. The diminutives of Goetzen include Götschel, Götzke, Gutke, Gutschel, and Gotte.
In addition to these variants of the same origin, there are many surnames that are anglicized variants of the Goetzen name such as Gossett, Goset, Geisz, Geeza, Gise, Giza, Gizzi, Goetzinger, etc. Furthermore, the Platt and Plott variant of Goetzen is relatively widespread among Germans, as is the Yost variant among Dutch-Americans and Swiss-Germans.
All of these spellings and variants stem from a shared Germanic root, and indicate a shared origin from a common ancestor.
Famous people with the name Goetzen
- Philipp von Goetzen (Prussian civil servant, explorer, historian and diplomat)
- Jacob T. Goetzen (Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Berlin)
- George Goetzen (German physician and botanist)
- Wilhelm Goetzen (Prussian botanist and explorer)
- Patrick Goetzen (German author and journalist)
- Robert Goetzen (Austrian musician, actor, and educator)
- Joseph Goetzen (German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist)
- Max Goetzen (German World War I airman and aviator)
- Leopold von Goetzen (Prussian military officer and politician)
- Johann Goetzen (German paleontologist and geologist)