German: probably from a variant of the ancient Germanic personal name Gero a short form of the various personal names formed with gārgēr ‘spear lance’.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
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Where is the Gess family from?
You can see how Gess families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Gess family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Gess families were found in USA in 1920. In 1840 there were 5 Gess families living in Kentucky. This was about 38% of all the recorded Gess's in USA. Kentucky had the highest population of Gess families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Gess surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Gess. 21% of Gess men worked as a Laborer and 11% of Gess women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Gess were Farm Laborer and Saleslady. .
Between 1963 and 2004, in the United States, Gess life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1992, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Gess in 1963 was 60, and 79 in 2004.