The baby name Gough is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /ɡɒf/ — commonly pronounced "Goff".
Gough is Welsh in Origin.
The baby name Gough is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /ɡɒf/ — commonly pronounced "Goff".
Gough is Welsh in Origin.
Gough (pronounced GOFF, rhymes with cough) is a Welsh surname turned given name meaning “red” or “red‑haired.” It derives from Welsh coch “red,” seen as goch after soft mutation in phrases, and began as a descriptive byname for someone with auburn hair or a ruddy complexion.
Attested in medieval Wales in epithets such as Owain Goch, it later settled as a hereditary surname across the Welsh Marches and southwest England. As a first name it remains rare, arising in the 19th–20th centuries via the surname‑as‑forename trend; Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam (born Edward Gough) is a notable bearer. Variants and related forms include Goff, Goffe, Goch, and the base Coch; in Welsh, feminine “goch” persists grammatically. Some English instances also overlap with Goff from Cornish gof “smith,” though the given name Gough usually retains the “red‑haired” sense. Not to be confused with the Dutch Van Gogh.
Gough is a genuine rarity. We count just 11 recorded uses of it worldwide, from 7 countries.
| Gough Whitlam Gough Whitlam was an influential Australian politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975. He is most famous for implementing significant social reforms, including the introduction of universal health care and free university education. His dismissal in 1975 remains one of the most dramatic events in Australian political history. |
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GH | 0 | #248 | 1 | 5,396 | |
| CN | Boys | 0 | #331 | 1 | 9,639 |
| HK | Boys | 0 | #557 | 1 | 12,905 |
| NG | Boys | 0 | #1,000 | 2 | 16,906 |
| AE | Boys | 0 | #1,143 | 1 | 22,615 |
| MY | Boys | 0 | #1,181 | 2 | 25,439 |
| ZA | Boys | 0 | #1,270 | 3 | 25,619 |
Gough is popular in 7 countries — most recent births per country:
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