Gau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland/England
France

Early Origins of the Gau family

The surname Gau was first found in Roxburghshire. One of the first records of the name was found in France alluding to its Norman heritage: Martin Gouge (c. 1360-1444), a French chancellor.

However, some of the family were found further south at Billesley in Warwickshire in early times. "The estate was afterwards possessed by Bishop Sherlock, through whose sister, who married Sir Thomas Gooch (1674-1754), Bishop of Ely, it passed into the Gooch family." 1

Early History of the Gau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gau research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1165, 1540, 1575, 1578, 1594, 1609, 1614, 1630, 1643, 1653, 1665, 1674, 1681, 1700, 1705, 1727, 1730, 1746, 1749, 1751 and 1754 are included under the topic Early Gau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Googh, Gouche, Gowk, Googe, Gooch, Gooche and others.

Early Notables of the Gau family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was Sir John Gooch of Suffolk; Barnabe Googe (1540-1594), an English poet and translator; William Gouge (1575-1653), an English clergyman and author, minister and preacher at St Ann Blackfriars, member of the Westminster Assembly from 1643; Sir William Gooch (1681-1751), 1st Baronet, born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Governor of Virginia (1727-1749) responsible for the passage of the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, eponym of Goochland County, Virginia; Sir Thomas Gooch, 2nd Baronet (1674-1754), an English bishop, brother to Sir William.Barnabe Googe (1540-1594), was an English poet, son of Robert Googe, recorder of...
Another 115 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gau Ranking

In France, the name Gau is the 3,635^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 2

Gau migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gau Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Louis Gau, aged 17, who arrived in Louisiana in 1720 3
Jane Gau, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1776 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Gau (post 1700) +

Charles Louis Joseph de Gau de Fregeville, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 4

The Gau Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Audaces juvat
Motto Translation: Fortune favours the bold.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 5) Charles Gau. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html