Gross or Groß in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

is the correct spelling of the surname under German orthographic rules. In Switzerland, the name is spelled Gross. Some Germans and Austrians also use the spelling with "ss" instead of "ß". It is a surname of German,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n, and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

(Ashkenazi

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

) origin. The word means "big", "tall" or "great", and was likely adopted in Europe over the 15th to 19th centuries during the times of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

when monarchs of the royal families (Emperor or Empress) were called "the Great" (der Große). Descendants of this House may have adopted the name ''Gross'' from their

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...

s. German-speaking Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s use references to Jesus as "Mein Herr ist Groß" (''My Lord is Great'') or "So Groß ist der Herr" (''So Great is the Lord''). Composer

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

(1797-1828) wrote several songs referring to Jesus or God as ''groß'', such as D 757, a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

called "Gott in der Natur" (''Groß ist der Herr!'') in 1822 and D 852, "Die Allmacht" (''Groß ist Jehova, der Herr'') in 1825.

People with this surname

* Al Gross (politician), American politician and United States senate candidate *

Alfred J. Gross Irving "Al" Gross (; February 22, 1918 – December 21, 2000) was a pioneer in mobile wireless communication. He created and patented many communications devices, specifically in relation to an early version of the walkie-talkie, Citiz ...

(1918–2000), American inventor * Arye Gross (born 1960), American actor * Avrum Gross (1936–2018), American lawyer *

Benedict Gross Benedict Hyman Gross is an American mathematician who is a professor at the University of California San Diego, the George Vasmer Leverett Professor of Mathematics Emeritus at Harvard University, and former Dean of Harvard College.Bill Gross (born 1958), American businessman * Chaim Gross (1904–1991), sculptor born in Galicia * Charles Gross (born 1934), American composer * Charles P. Gross (1889–1975), United States Army officer * Christian Gross (born 1954), Swiss football manager * David Gross (born 1941), American scientist and Nobel prize winner * David A. Gross (born 1954), American diplomat *

Evgeni Gross Evgenii Fedorovich Gross (1897 – 1972) was a Soviet physicist working in optics and spectroscopy of condensed matter. He graduated from Leningrad University in 1924. He became a correspondent member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1946. H ...

(1897–1972), Soviet scientist *

Frank Gross Frank George Gross, OMC (May 23, 1919 – January 13, 2006) was a philanthropist awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship (OMC) one month after his death in 2006.Boughner B., Schwab D. Frank Gross remembered with medal, Chatham Daily News, ...

(1919–2006), Canadian philanthropist *

Gabe Gross Gabriel Jordan Gross (born October 21, 1979) is a former American professional baseball outfielder who is currently the hitting coach for the Auburn Tigers. His father, Lee Gross, was center for the Auburn Tigers and in the NFL. His brother, ...

(born 1979), American baseball player *

Garry Gross Garry Gross (November 6, 1937 – November 30, 2010) was an American fashion photographer who went on to specialize in dog portraiture. Career Born in New York, Gross began his career as a commercial photographer, apprenticing with photogra ...

, American photographer * H. R. Gross (1899–1987), American politician * Hans Georg Friedrich Groß (1860–1924), a German Empire balloonist and airship constructor * Hans Gross (Groß, Grosz) (1847–1915) Austrian lawyer, one of the earliest modern forensic scientists *

Heinrich Gross Heinrich Gross (14 November 1915 – 15 December 2005) was an Austrian psychiatrist, medical doctor and neurologist, a reputed expert as a leading court-appointed psychiatrist, ill-famed for his proven involvement in the killing of at least nine ...

(1915–2005), Austrian Nazi doctor *

Heinrich Gross (rabbi) Heinrich Gross, writing also as Henri Gross (born Szenicz, Hungarian Kingdom, now Senica, Slovakia, 6 November 1835; died 1910), was a German rabbi. He was a pupil in rabbinical literature of Judah Aszod. After graduating from the Breslau sem ...

(1835–1910), German rabbi * Helen Gross (1896–unknown), American classic female blues singer *

Henry Gross Henry Gross (born April 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his association with the group Sha Na Na and for his hit song, " Shannon". Gross is considered a one-hit wonder artist; none of his other songs reached the Top ...

(born 1951), American singer-songwriter *

Herbert Gross Herbert Irving Gross (April 2, 1929 – May 27, 2020) was an American Professor of mathematics (retired) and former senior lecturer at MIT’s Center for Advanced Engineering Study (CAES). He was best known as a pioneer in using distance learni ...

(born 1929), American mathematician * Izidor Gross (1866–1942), Croatian chess master and hazzan *

Jacob Gross (Illinois politician) Jacob Gross (February 11, 1840 – December 29, 1918) was a German American businessman and politician. Born in Germany, Gross emigrated to the United States in 1860 and settled in Chicago, Illinois. He went to the Chicago public schools and ...

(1840–1918), Illinois state treasurer * Jacob Gross (1819–1899), German-American piano maker * Jacob A. Gross (born 1842), New York politician * James A. Gross, American professor and labor law expert *

James Gross James J. Gross is a psychologist best known for his research in emotion and emotion regulation. He is a professor at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory. Education Gross received his B.A. in philos ...

, American psychologist and professor *

Jan T. Gross Jan Tomasz Gross (born 1947) is a Polish-American sociologist and historian. He is the Norman B. Tomlinson '16 and '48 Professor of War and Society, emeritus, and Professor of History, emeritus, at Princeton University. Gross is the author o ...

(born 1947), Polish-American historian *

John Gross John Gross FRSL (12 March 1935 – 10 January 2011) was an eminent English man of letters. A leading intellectual, writer, anthologist, and critic, '' The Guardian'' (in a tribute titled "My Hero") and ''The Spectator'' were among several pu ...

(1935–2011), British author, editor and critic * Jordan Gross (born 1980), American football player * Jost Gross (1946–2005), Swiss politician * Julie Gross (born 1957), Australian basketball player * Kenneth I. Gross (born 1938), American mathematician * Kevin Gross (born 1961), American baseball player *

Kip Gross Kip Lee Gross (born August 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, Nippon-Ham Fighters, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros in Major League Baseball and Nippon Profes ...

(born 1964), American baseball player * Larry Gross, American screenwriter * Luke Gross (born 1969), American rugby footballer * M. Louise Gross (1884–1951), American activist * Manuela Groß (born 1957), German figure skater *

Mark Gross (musician) Mark Gross (born February 20, 1966) is a Baltimore-born jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop tradition. He studied at the Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1988, then worked in the band of Lionel Hampton and performed in '' Five Guys Named ...

(born 1966), American musician *

Mark Gross (mathematician) Mark William Gross (born 30 November 1965)Anon (2017) is an American mathematician, specializing in differential geometry, algebraic geometry, and mirror symmetry. Education Gross studied from 1982 at Cornell University graduating with a bach ...

(born 1965), American mathematician * Mary Gross (born 1953), American actress, voice actress, and comedian * Mason W. Gross (1911–1977), American university president * Matthias Gross (born 1969), German social scientist * Maurice Gross (1934–2001), French linguist *

Michael Gross (disambiguation) Michael Gross may refer to: * Michael Gross (artist) (1920–2004), Israeli painter, sculptor and conceptual artist * Michael L. Gross (chemist) (born 1940), American professor of chemistry, medicine, and immunology *Michael Gross (actor) (born 1947 ...

, multiple people * Michael Groß (politician), German politician * Michael Groß (swimmer), German swimmer * Milt Gross (1895–1953), American comics artist *

Miriam Gross Miriam Gross, Lady Owen is a literary editor and writer. She was the deputy literary editor of ''The Observer'' from 1969-81, the women's editor of ''The Observer'' from 1981-84, the arts editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' from 1986-91, and the ...

(born 1939), British editor, journalist and writer * Mirjana Gross (1922–2012), Croatian historian and writer * Morris Gross, American college sports coach * Nikolaus Gross (1898–1945), German anti-Nazi activist * Otto Gross (1877–1920), Austrian psychoanalyst * Pascal Groß (born 1991), German footballer * Paul Gross (born 1959), Canadian actor *

Pete Gross Peter R. Gross (December 28, 1936 – December 2, 1992) was an American sports announcer known in Seattle, Washington, as the "Voice of the Seahawks" for 17 years. He spent most of his career as a radio play-by-play announcer with KIRO (AM). ...

, American sports announcer * Philip Gross (born 1952), English poet *

Ricco Groß Ricco Groß (also spelled Gross, born 22 August 1970) is a former German biathlete whose exploits made him one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the Winter Olympics and the World Championships. Career He has been married to his w ...

(born 1970), German retired biathlete *

Rita Gross Rita M. Gross (July 6, 1943 – November 11, 2015) was an American Buddhist feminist scholar of religions and author. Before retiring, she was Professor of Comparative Studies in Religion at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. In 1974 G ...

(1943–2015), American educator, writer, and theologian * Robert A. Gross (historian) (born 1959), American historian and professor * Robert E. Gross (businessman) (1897–1961), American businessman *

Robert Edward Gross Robert Edward Gross (July 2, 1905 – October 11, 1988) was an American surgeon and a medical researcher. He performed early work in pediatric heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital. Gross was president of the American Association for Thoracic ...

(1905–1988), American pioneering pediatric surgeon * Roland Gross (1909–1989), American film editor *

Sam Gross Sam Gross (born August 7, 1933) is an American cartoonist, specializing in single-panel cartoons. History Born in Bronx, New York City, Gross was the son of Max and Sophie, who were Jewish immigrants to America. His mother was born in Iași, ...

, American cartoonist * Samuel David Gross (1805–1884), American surgeon * Sara Gross (born 1976), Canada-born British triathlete * Stanislav Gross (1969–2015), Czech lawyer, politician and former social-democratic Prime Minister * Susanna Gross, English newspaper editor * Terry Gross (born 1951), American radio personality * Tom Gross, journalist and political commentator * Walter Gross (disambiguation), multiple people * William H. Gross (born 1944), American financial manager and author *

Yoram Gross Yoram Jerzy Gross (18 October 192621 September 2015) was a Polish-born, Australian producer of children's and family entertainment. He was known for his adaptation of children's characters from books and films, and best known for the produc ...

(1926–2015), Polish–Australian film producer * Dr Gröss, a character in

Faces of Death ''Faces of Death'' (later re-released as ''The Original Faces of Death'') is a 1978 American mondo horror film written and directed by John Alan Schwartz, credited under the pseudonyms "Conan Le Cilaire" and "Alan Black" respectively. The fil ...

and its sequels. It can also refer to Heinrich Gross

People with this surname

See also