Goulet
A French surname usually from a word for the throat, narrow passage, or small channel, and sometimes from a nickname tied to the mouth or appetite.
The #6,084 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 54,771 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is best explained from French goulet, a diminutive related to words for the throat, gullet, or a narrow opening or channel. The historical sources also connect it with older dialectal French forms around goule, meaning "mouth," and with words such as goulot and gullet. In that sense, the surname likely began as a nickname for someone with a notable mouth or appetite, or as a topographic name for a constricted passage or outlet.
History
The surname is well established in French-speaking areas and later spread to North America, especially through French and Québécois families. 19th-century surname writers sometimes treated Goulet alongside similar forms like Goulart and Goulard, reflecting a broader cluster of French names built on goule/goulet. In English-language records, the name is often kept in its French spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same word family that helps explain Goulet is also behind English gullet, meaning the throat or esophagus.
From the historical record
“Goulan, Goulard, Goulart, Goulet, Goulier, Goulin, Goul- lard, Goulliart, Goullier. Dér. de Goule qui signifie encore bouche eu Normandie et en Champagne. De là notre mot goitlée. Goulayand en Normandie est uu nom de gros”
— Dictionnaire des noms (French surnames)