Gross (surname)


Gross or Groß in German is the correct spelling of the surname under German orthographic rules. In Switzerland, the name is spelled Gross. Some Germans and Austrians also use the spelling with "ss" instead of "ß".
It is a surname of German, Prussian, and Yiddish origin. The word means "big", "tall" or "great", and was likely adopted in Europe over the 15th to 19th centuries during the times of the House of Habsburg when monarchs of the royal families were called "the Great". Descendants of this House may have adopted the name Gross from their ancestors.
German-speaking Christian hymns use references to Jesus as "Mein Herr ist Groß" or "So Groß ist der Herr". Composer Franz Schubert wrote several songs referring to Jesus or God as groß, such as D 757, a quartet called "Gott in der Natur" in 1822 and D 852, "Die Allmacht" in 1825.

People with this surname

Fictional characters