Goethe (surname)

Goethe (also Göthe) is a German surname. It is best known for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (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 (c.f. 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.

Members of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's family bearing the surname:

Other people called Goethe, Göthe or Gothe:

People called Goeth or Göth

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