Find out how popular the last name Gouw is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gouw.

Gouw, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gouw surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gouw in America

Gouw is the 158432nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gouw surname appeared 102 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gouw.

The history of the last name Gouw

The surname GOUW is of Dutch origin and can be traced back to the 13th century in the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "gouw," which referred to a region or district. The name was likely used to identify someone who lived in or came from a particular gouw.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname GOUW can be found in the Utrecht Archives, where a man named Gherardus Gouw was mentioned in a document dated 1274. The name also appeared in various medieval records and manuscripts from the Netherlands, such as the Leiden Manuscript, which mentioned a Pieter Gouw in the 15th century.

The GOUW surname was initially concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Utrecht and South Holland, where many towns and villages had names containing the word "gouw." For instance, the town of Gouwsluis, which means "gouw lock," was a likely place of origin for some families with the GOUW surname.

During the 17th century, a notable individual with the GOUW surname was Jan Gouw (1629-1675), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still-life paintings and landscapes. Another prominent figure was Petrus Gouw (1766-1834), a Dutch minister and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Leiden.

In the 19th century, the GOUW surname spread beyond the Netherlands due to emigration. One notable bearer was Johannes Gouw (1829-1897), a Dutch-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in New York City, including the Old New York Hospital and the Puck Building.

Other historically significant individuals with the GOUW surname include Pieter Gouw (1822-1901), a Dutch politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice in the Netherlands, and Jacobus Gouw (1834-1901), a Dutch-American artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings.

While the GOUW surname has its roots in the Netherlands, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South Africa, due to various waves of Dutch emigration over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gouw

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gouw.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gouw was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gouw was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gouw, please contact us.

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