Goethe (also ''Göthe'' and ''Gœthe'') is a

German surname Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a surname (''Nachname, Familienname''). The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the "Name order, ...

. It is best known for

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

(1749–1832). It belongs to the group of surnames derived from given names, in this case given names in ''Got-'', in most cases likely ''

Gottfried Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century, and composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for "God" and "good", and possibly further conflated with ) and ("pe ...

'' (cf. '' Götz''). Variants of the surname include '' Göth'', '' Goeth'' and ''Göthke'', ''Götke''. The name is comparatively rare; the German phonebook (as of 2013) has 176 entries for ''Göthe'' and 168 entries for ''Goethe''; 179 entries for '' Göth'' and 28 entries for '' Goeth''; 11 entries for ''Götke'' and 2 entries for ''Göthke''.Goethe (verwandt.de)

List of people with the surname

Members of

's family bearing the surname: *his great-grandfather, Hans Christian Göthe (fl. 1650s), a blacksmith of Kannawurf,

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, married Sibylla Werner *his grandfather Friedrich Georg Göthe (6 September 1657 – 10 November 1730), lived in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

but in 1685 with the suspension of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

was forced to move to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. *his parents,

Johann Caspar Goethe Johann Caspar Goethe (29 July 1710 – 25 May 1782) was a wealthy German jurist and royal councillor to the Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is considered one of the greatest German poets and authors of all ...

(29 July 1710 – 25 May 1782) and

Catharina Elisabeth Goethe Catharina Elisabeth Goethe, born Catharina Elisabeth Textor, (19 February 1731 – 13 September 1808) was the mother of German playwright and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his sister Cornelia Schlosser. She was also known by the nickname Fr ...

, née Textor (19 February 1731 – 13 September 1808) *his wife (m. 1806) and former mistress

Christiane von Goethe Johanna Christiana Sophie Vulpius von Goethe (1 June 1765 – 6 June 1816) was the longtime lover and later wife of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Biography Vulpius spent her childhood in ''Luthergasse'', one of the oldest parts of Weimar. Her pat ...

(1765–1816) née Vulpius *their son

August von Goethe August von Goethe, portrait by Julie Gräfin Egloffstein Julius August Walther von Goethe (25 December 1789 – 27 October 1830) was the only one of the five children of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Christiane Vulpius to survive into adul ...

(born out of wedlock 25 December 1789, died 28 October 1830), and his wife Ottilie von Goethe, née von Pogwisch (31 October 1796 – 26 October 1872). Other people called Goethe, Göthe, Gothe or Göth: *

Amon Göth Amon Leopold Göth (; 11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946) was an Austrian SS functionary and war criminal. He served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in Płaszów in German-occupied Poland for most of th ...

(1908-1946), SS functionary * Bror Geijer Göthe (1892–1949), Swedish artist *

Charles Goethe Charles Matthias Goethe (March 28, 1875 – July 10, 1966) was an American eugenicist, entrepreneur, land developer, philanthropist, conservationist, founder of the Eugenics Society of Northern California, and a native and lifelong resident of ...

(1875–1966), American activist * Dieter Göthe (fl. 1950s), East German slalom canoer * Erik Gustaf Göthe (1779–1838) Swedish sculptor * Florian Gothe (born 1962) retired German football defender * Franz Goethe (1881–1921), German artist *

Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(1669–1728) — German Late-Baroque architect *

Jurgen Gothe Jurgen Gothe (April 4, 1944 – April 9, 2015) was a German-born Canadian radio broadcaster and print columnist. For 23 years, from 1985 to 2008, he was host of the national classical music program '' DiscDrive'', which aired across Canada on CBC ...

(1944–2015) Canadian radio host * Matthias Goethe (1827–1876) German-Australian pastor * Odd Christian Gøthe (1919–2002) Norwegian civil servant and politician *

Oliver Goethe Oliver Goethe (, ; born 14 October 2004) is a German and Danish racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for MP Motorsport as part of the Red Bull Junior Team. A member of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2023, he previously c ...

(born 2004) Danish-German racing driver *

Staffan Göthe Lars ''Staffan'' Göthe (born 20 December 1944, in Luleå), is a Swedish playwright, actor and director.DramaDirectory He is a professor at Malmö Theatre Academy (Teaterhögskolan i Malmö) at Lund University. Göthe graduated from the Gothenb ...

(born 1944) Swedish playwright, actor and director

References

{{surname German-language surnames Surnames from given names

List of people with the surname

See also

References