Show ContentsGore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Gore was spawned from the landscape of northern France known as Normandy during the Middle Ages. It comes from the Old French form of George.

Early Origins of the Gore family

The surname Gore was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy.

Early History of the Gore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gore research. Another 20 words (1 lines of text) covering the year 1571 is included under the topic Early Gore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gore Spelling Variations

History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Gore, some of which include Jore, Joret, Joreau, Joriau, Joriaux, Jorin, Jorel, Jori, Jory, Jorry, Jorre, Jorret, Jorioz and many more.

Early Notables of the Gore family

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gore Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gore Ranking

In the United States, the name Gore is the 1,111st most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 1


United States Gore migration to the United States +

By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Gore has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Gore were

Gore Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Gore was one of the earliest recorded settlers in the United States, he settled in Virginia in 1607 aboard the ship "Discovery"
  • John Gore, who settled in New England in 1630
  • Richard Gore, who settled in New England in 1630
  • Mr. Stephen Gore, who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship "Ark and Dove" 2
  • Miss Ursula Goodenowe, who arrived aboard the ship "Confidence" in 1638 in New England and Boston stated. 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Gore Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Henry Gore, who landed in Virginia in 1714 2
  • Casper Gore, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1755 2
  • Grace Gore, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1766 2
Gore Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Arthur Gore, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1816 2
  • Luke Gore, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
  • James Gore, who arrived in New York in 1819 2
  • Jost Heinr Gore, who arrived in America in 1854 2

Canada Gore migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gore Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Gore, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Australia Gore migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gore Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • John Gore, English convict from Kent, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
  • Thomas Gore, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 29, 1828, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • Mr. John Gore who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Mr. Michael Gore, (b. 1804), aged 27, English seaman who was convicted in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • Mr. Thomas Gore, English agricultural labourer who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 27 September 1834, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Gore migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gore Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • R. Gore, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Black Eagle" in 1861 9
  • Mr. R. Gore, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Black Eagle" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 19th November 1861 10
  • Mr. C. Gore, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Wild Duck" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 20th December 1867 9
  • John Gore, aged 22, a gardener, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Wild Duck" in 1873
  • Mr. James A. Gore, (b. 1854), aged 20, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Dorette" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th April 1874 10
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Gore (post 1700) +

  • Robert W. "Bob" Gore (1937-2020), American engineer and scientist, inventor and businessman, best known for the inventor of Gore-Tex
  • Albert Arnold "Al" Gore Jr. (b. 1948), Vice President of the United States under President Bill Clinton, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work An Inconvenient Truth
  • Franklin "Frank" Gore (b. 1983), American NFL football running back for the San Francisco 49ers
  • Wilbert L. "Bill" Gore (1912-1986), American chemical engineer and the main inventor of Gore-Tex fabrics, founder of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc in 1958
  • Lesley Gore (b. 1946), American singer-songwriter perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party"
  • Michael Edward John Gore CVO, CBE (1935-2022), British diplomat, Governor of the Cayman Islands from 1992 to 1995
  • Michael Miles "Mike" Gore AO (1934-2022), British-born Australian engineer, physicist, and science explainer who worked at the Australian National University in Canberra, founder of Questacon, the first interactive science centre in Australia
  • Suresh Gore (d. 2020), Shiv Sena politician from Pune district, Maharashtra, Member of the 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
  • Suresh Gore (d. 2020), Shiv Sena politician from Pune district, Maharashtra, Member of the 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
  • Sir John Gore (1772-1836), British Vice-Admiral, second son of Colonel John Gore of the 33rd regiment, and afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of the Tower
  • ... (Another 17 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Cornwall
  • Sidney John Gore (d. 1942), British Petty Officer aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 11


Suggested Readings for the name Gore +

  • Family History With Name Origin and Lineage Lines, Gore: From Genealogical Records.

  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  4. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
  5. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 24) Albion voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1828 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1828
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
  9. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  11. Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A


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