Gottlieb
A German surname and given name meaning “God’s love” or “God’s beloved.”
The #5,345 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,434 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is built from German Gott, “God,” and lieb, “dear” or “beloved.” In that sense it originally meant something like “God’s love,” “God’s beloved,” or more loosely “beloved by God.” It began as a personal name and later became hereditary as a surname in German-speaking areas.
History
Historical sources commonly treat Gottlieb as a Christian personal name that later passed into surname use. It also appears in related German forms and in English records as an adapted or translated name. The name is still well known in German-speaking countries and among families of German descent elsewhere.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Gottlieb with English names like Lovegod and Lovegood because they all expressed the same devotional idea.
From the historical record
“LOVEGOD. LOVEGOOD. 'Love God.' Tlie Germans have Gottlieb, the Italians Amadio, the French Amadis, in the same sense. Talbot's English Etymol. L0VEKD7. Probably Love, wolf, with the termination Kix — "the little wolf."”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom