GORING
The surname Goring is recorded as having both English and German roots, a fact reflected in its varied historical attestations across continental Europe and the British Isles.
In England, the name is predominantly locational, deriving from one or more villages named Goring in Oxfordshire and West Sussex. The place-name itself originates from the Old English word gara, meaning a triangular piece of land, or a *gore*. When combined with the suffix -ing—a common Old English element indicating belonging or relationship—the name can be interpreted as “people belonging to Gara’s land” or simply a reference to someone dwelling near a triangular tract of pasture. The earliest surviving record is the *Domesday Book* of 1086, where the name appears as Garinges under both Oxfordshire and Sussex entries. Later medieval documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxford (1273) and the Pipe Rolls of Sussex (1192), confirm the surname’s continued usage by resettlements in those counties.
Another avenue of English derivation relates the surname to the personal name Gara, an early form of a name that contained the element gar, meaning spear. Thus the suffix -ing may translate as “people of” or “dwellers at” a person named Gara, reinforcing the locational or familial connection that characterises many archaic English surnames.
Parallel to its English development, Goring appears in German records as a variant of Göhring and Göring. These German forms are understood to stem from the Old High German or Middle High German word göre (later görä), meaning “hare.” The name also has linguistic ties to the verb goeren, signifying “to fight.” The earliest references in German sources date to the twelfth century in the Rhineland, where the surname was associated with local families that later gained prominence in the Bavarian duchy of Nuremberg and other noble houses.
In modern times the surname remains common in German‑speaking regions, with bearers unrelated to the infamous World War II figure Hermann Göring. Contemporary individuals of note include German‑Israeli writer Myriam Göring, skier Georg Göring, guitarist Julia Göring, and historian Jost Andreae. In the United Kingdom, the English branch of the name continues primarily in its original geographic enclaves, often among families whose ancestry can be traced back to medieval landholders recorded in roll archives and parish registers.
Overall, the Goring surname exemplifies how place-based identifiers and personal name elements can converge to form a family name that survives across centuries and borders, retaining distinct but related origins in both English and German contexts.
Typical given names associated with the Goring surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- William
Female
- Anne
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Hannah
- Helen
- Jane
- Joanne
- Julie
- Kathleen
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Gorringe
- Garing
- Gahring
- Garinger
- Garringer
- Garin
- Gareing
- Garring
- Garringe
- Gorin
- Gorina
- Goringe
- Goaring
- Goehring
- Goering
- Gording
- Goreing
- Gorines
- Gorling
- Gorning
- Gorring
- Gorringer
- Gorrings
- Gourin
- Gouring
- Gowring
- Gring
- Guering
- Guring
- Gorbing
- Gori
- Gorini
- Gorrin
- Goryn
- Gourine
- Gourong
- Gurin
- Cornock
- Greenough
- Kernick
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Goring in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,650 people named Goring in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,948th most common surname in Britain. Around 25 in a million people in Britain are named Goring.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Goring
- Marius Goring - Actor (1912 to 1998)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.