Gotts

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Gotts is a UK surname that began in Norfolk. About 800 people with the name live in England, and it has spread to other parts of the world through migration. It is distinct from the similar name Gott, though they may share sources around the 14th century. There are earlier 12th–13th century records, but no proven link to present-day Gotts. A few early records in Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire appear in surname references, but there are no family trees showing connections to modern families. These references often mix Gott and Gotts/Gottes together.

Possible origins have been proposed by different scholars:

- Bardsley’s Dictionary connects Gott with a locative name from goyt, meaning a water channel; the earliest quoted reference is 1379 in Yorkshire.
- Reaney’s Dictionary links Gott/Gotts to Gotte filius Wulfrici (1188, York) and Geoffrey Gottes (1348, Norfolk). It also mentions Gocelin (Gotselin) as a possible root, with pet forms Gosse and Got, possibly Breton in origin.
- Another idea suggests derived from Middle English gotte/gut, meaning gut or a corpulent/greedy person.
- Hanks & Hodges say Gott comes from Norman English/German roots, as a short form of Germanic names with the first element meaning God; Gotts would be a patronymic.

Notable mentions: the name Richard Gotts is carved on the font cover at St George’s Church, South Acre, Norfolk; his 1535 will shows him as Rector of South Lynn. A small number of Gottes and Gotts wills exist in North Norfolk into the 1700s.

Many Gotts/Gott people were not landowners, so few records show their wealth or property. Since surnames were not common before the 15th century, linking old references to modern families is often not possible. A coat of arms was granted in Cambridge during the Heralds’ Visitation of 1585 and 1614; the applicant lived in Cambridge, and the record is noted by Fairbairn. One descendant named Richard was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1578, but that line seems to have died out.