Gosnell
A surname most likely from an old place-name, probably meaning a “goose plain” or similarly named locality.
The #5,060 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,546 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Historical sources most often treat Gosnell as a shortened or altered form of the older surname Gosnold. That name has been explained as coming from a lost or obscure place-name such as Gosewold, interpreted as a wold or open plain associated with geese. The first element is likely Old English gos, “goose,” combined with a place-name element referring to woodland or a plain, though the exact original locality is uncertain.
History
Lower notes Gosnell as an older form of Gosnold, and other surname writers connect it with related English names such as Gosland and Gosling. In England it appears to have survived as a regional surname before becoming relatively uncommon. The modern spelling may reflect simplification from the older -nold/-nold forms over time.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Gosnell with a cluster of “goose” names, showing how strongly they heard gos as the key element.
From the historical record
“and gi'rbc are made gamhe and guerhe. GOSNELL. Anciently Gosnold, and therefore probably from some locality called Goseuwold, a wold or plain ^vhercon geese were numerous. GOSPATRICK. Originally a personal name, and stated in arnre tractby t!ie Ecv. Jas. Johnstone, cntilled " Anecdotes of Olave the Black, King of…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom