Goyette
A French surname most likely from a diminutive form of a given name, later carried to North America by French-speaking families.
The #9,983 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,557 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Goyette is a French surname whose final -ette ending suggests a diminutive or affectionate form. It is often explained as coming from a short personal name or nickname, ultimately tied to older French naming patterns rather than a single transparent modern word. In practice, surnames of this type were commonly formed from a father’s name or a familiar given-name form that later became hereditary.
History
The name is especially associated with French Canada and the wider French-speaking diaspora in North America. As with many French surnames, it likely stabilized as a hereditary family name in the early modern period and was later carried to Quebec and the United States through migration. Modern bearers are concentrated in North American French-descended communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The distinctive -ette ending is one reason the surname is often recognized immediately as French in form, even when its exact root name is obscure.