Recorded in many forms including Got, Gott, Gottes, and Gotts, (English and German), Gotier, Gottier, Gottelier (French), Gotti, Gottle, Gottling, Gotter, Goter, Gottesman, (German), this is a surname of several and diverse origins. It may derive from one of the many pre 7th century personal names such as Godbald, Gottfrid, Gottlieb, or Gotscelin, all of which contain the word Gott or God meaning god, plus a suffix or adornment such as "lieb" meaning love, or it may be habitational from living by a "gott", meaning a channel or water course. The suffix "-er" or "ier" when it occurs, implies either one who works by such a place or it can be locational, and describe some one "of that place". Amongst the early examples of the hereditary surname are those of Haldane Gotte, in the Assize Court register for the city of Lincoln in 1202, Counrad Gotti of Villingen, Germany, in 1329, and Berthold Gottelin of Konstanz in 1345. In England the surname seems to have been particularly popular in the early days, in both Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, although why this should be is unclear. The first recording of the surname in any spelling anywhere in the world, is probably that of Godui Gott. This is in the register of the abbey of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in the year 1095. This was during the reign of King William 11nd of England, 1087 - 1100. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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