Gause
A surname with several possible roots, but most likely an old Germanic nickname or personal-name form that spread into modern German and English usage.
The #6,111 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 55,035 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources connect Gause with a cluster of old Germanic name-forms such as Gauso, Gozzo, and Gossa, and with later German spellings like Gause and Gose. That points to a surname that likely developed from an older personal name or nickname rather than from a place-name or occupation. Because the nineteenth-century scholarship is not fully consistent, the exact root is not certain; some related forms may also have been influenced by other names that sounded similar.
History
The name appears in older Germanic naming material and later shows up in modern German and English spellings. In the 19th-century surname literature it is grouped with several related forms across German, English, and French spelling traditions, which suggests multiple parallel developments or later spelling shifts. In the United States today, Gause is uncommon but established as a family name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname scholars often grouped Gause with a whole family of look-alike spellings, which is why the etymology is still a little murky.
From the historical record
“bok.] Graff suggests that Goz in 0. G. names is another form of Gaud, which is most probably Goth ; to which Forsteman refers the 0. G. names Gauso, Gozzo, Gossa, Mod. G. Gause and Goss. (See Furguson.) Gas, Gass, Gasse, Gas, Casse may sometimes be from Cassandra ; or even from the Dan. gasse, a gander. GOOSEMAN.…”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames