Show ContentsGass History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Gass family

The surname Gass was first found in Yorkshire, where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Gass family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gass research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1626 is included under the topic Early Gass History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gass Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gass, Gasse and others.

Early Notables of the Gass family

Notable among the family at this time was

  • John Gass of Tordoch

Gass Ranking

In the United States, the name Gass is the 4,338th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. [1] However, in France, the name Gass is ranked the 3,931st most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. [2]


United States Gass migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gass Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Jon Gass, who landed in Virginia in 1635 [3]
Gass Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Frederich Gass, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1727 aboard the ship "James Goodwill" [3]
  • Jacob, Gass Jr., who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1727 aboard the ship "James Goodwill" [3]
  • Jacob, Gass Sr., who landed in Pennsylvania in 1727 aboard the ship "James Goodwill" [3]
  • Friedrich Gass, who landed in America in 1735 [3]
  • Martin Gass, who landed in America in 1736 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Gass Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Gass, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1804 [3]
  • John J Gass, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1806 [3]
  • Henry Gass, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1806 [3]
  • Samuel Gass, aged 48, who arrived in Tennessee in 1812 [3]
  • Joseph Gass, who arrived in New York in 1835 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Gass Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Monika Gass, aged 13, who landed in New York, NY in 1901 [3]

West Indies Gass migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [4]
Gass Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Edward Gass, (b. 1615), aged 20, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Paul of London" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 [5]

Contemporary Notables of the name Gass (post 1700) +

  • William Howard Gass (1924-2017), American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, critic, and philosophy professor, three-time National Book Critics Circle Award winner
  • Robert Gass (b. 1948), American leadership coach and organizational consultant, seminar leader and rock musician
  • Octavius Decatur "O. D." Gass (1828-1924), American prospector, businessman, and politician
  • John Donald MacIntyre Gass (1928-2005), Canadian-born, American ophthalmologist, one of the world's leading specialists on diseases of the retina
  • John "Jack" Gass, American early professional football player who played from 1895 to 1900
  • Floyd Gass (1927-2006), American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator
  • Craig Gass (b. 1970), American stand-up comedian
  • Kyle Gass (b. 1960), American actor and a member of the bands Tenacious D and Trainwreck
  • Wilhelm Gass (1813-1889), German theologian
  • Sir Simon Lawrance Gass KCMG CVO (b. 1956), British diplomat, Director General, Political, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (2013-)
  • ... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  5. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm


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