from Dutch and German gans ‘goose’,
hence a nickname for a foolish person or a metonymic occupational name
for someone who bred or tended geese, or a habitational name for
someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a
goose.
nickname for a healthy or strong person, from Middle Low
German gans ‘whole’, ‘complete’, ‘healthy’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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