Show ContentsGelb History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestral home of the Gelb family is found in the German state of Bavaria. Gelb is a local name for a person who lived in Bavaria. Since medieval times the name Gelb came from humble beginnings and gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the region's feudal society.

Early Origins of the Gelb family

The surname Gelb was first found in Bavaria, where since medieval times the name Gelb came from humble beginnings but gained a significant reputation for its contribution to the region's feudal society. It later became more prominent as many branches of the family acquired distant estates which greatly elevated their social status.

Early History of the Gelb family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gelb research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1817 and 1846 are included under the topic Early Gelb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gelb Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gelb, Gelber, Ghelb, Ghelber, Gelbe, Ghelbe, Gelben, Gelbere, Gelbel, Gelble, Ghelben, Ghelbere, Ghelbel, Ghelble and many more.

Early Notables of the Gelb family

Prominent among members of the name Gelb in this period include

  • Georg Gelber who was rewarded for his distinguished service with a noble title in 1846

Gelb Ranking

In the United States, the name Gelb is the 16,536th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Gelb migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gelb Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Ludwig Gelb, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 [2]
  • Johann Henrich Gelb, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1740 [2]
  • Conrad Gelb, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1747 [2]
  • Johan Conrad Gelb, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1747 [2]
Gelb Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Gelb, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1851 [2]
  • Peter Gelb, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1858 [2]
  • D Gelb, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1876 [2]
  • D. Gelb, who arrived in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in 1876
Gelb Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Samuel Gelb, who arrived in Indiana in 1920-1923

Contemporary Notables of the name Gelb (post 1700) +

  • Barbara Gelb (1926-2017), née Stone, an American author, playwright, and journalist
  • Michael J. Gelb (b. 1952), American author and public speaker, founder and president of The High Performance Learning Center
  • Professor Michael H. Gelb (b. 1957), American biochemist and chemist at the University of Washington
  • Arthur Gelb (1924-2014), American editor, author and managing editor of The New York Times from 1986 to 1989
  • Nicolas Louis Gelb, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 [3]


  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. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 5) Nicolas Gelb. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html


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