Gaeta
An Italian place-name surname meaning “from Gaeta,” the historic coastal town in southern Italy.
The #7,133 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,859 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gaeta is a habitational surname, originally used for someone from the town of Gaeta in Italy. The place-name goes back to Latin Caieta or Cajeta, the ancient name of the town. The surname therefore means, in effect, “one from Gaeta.”
History
The name is rooted in a famous Mediterranean port and fortress town, so it could be adopted by people who moved away from that area. Nineteenth-century surname writers regularly treated Gaeta as a straightforward geographic name, and related forms such as Cajetan and Gaetano were explained the same way. In modern usage it is especially associated with Italian and Italian-descended families.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older reference works often linked the related personal names Cajetan/Gaetano directly to the town of Gaeta, showing how place-names often became both surnames and given names.
From the historical record
“of the Gear, John O Gear, and at length John Gear. G-EDDES or GETTY. Local. Gaeta, a town of Italy, and signifies a stronghold. Gaelic, Caetigh ; Welsh, Caety, from Cae, surrounded, defended, shut up, and tigh or ty, a house. Geddes, the son of Gideon. GEOFFREY. (Belgic.) From gau, joyful, and fred, peace-”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names