Gossan

This rare and interesting name is of medieval English origin and is a variant spelling of Gosson, an assimilated form of Godson, and derived form the Old English pre 7th Century "godsuna", godson. In the York miracle plays "Gud sonne", meaning good son, was a common term of address. However, Goossan may also derive from an Old French given name Gosse, representing the Germanic personal name Gozzo, the abridged form of the various names with their first element "god", or "got". The following examples illustrate the name development after 1584, Frances Gossen (1590, London) and the marriages of Rebecka Gossan and Walter Mount on October 12th 1629 at St. Gregory by St. Paul, and Anna Gossan and Richard Brisket on October 29th 1638 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Gosson, marriage to Mary Cater, which was dated October 5th 1584, at St. Vedant and St. Michael, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.