Frequency: (145)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. French: from the Old French word goi (Latin gubia) denoting a type of bill hook or knife used by vine-growers or coopers, hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of such implements.
2. English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of various places in France named Gouy, for example in Aisne or Pas-de-Calais.
3. Galician: probably a habitational name from Goy in Lugo province, Galicia.
4. German: northwestern variant of Gau.
GIVEN NAMES: French 5%. Andre, Jacques.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
