What We Know About the Gauss Surname

Families named Gauss share a German surname with a long history. Elsdon Smith's dictionary of American family names explains it as “dweller at the sign of the goose; one with some characteristic of a goose”.

Researching the origin

It is a topographic name, describing where an early bearer lived. The name also appears as Gaus and Gause.

1,029 Americans were listed as Gauss in the 2010 census. 221 people born in France between 1891 and 2000 carried the Gauss name at birth. Births ran at 11 in 1891–1900 and 25 in 1991–2000.

Family crest and blazon

There is no single Gauss family crest for all bearers; the honest first step is to find out which Gauss line, if any, bore arms.

For the full story, order the Gauss surname pack.