Family name origins & meanings
- Dutch : Americanized spelling of Goewie, for which Debrabandere offers various explanations, including the following:
- variant of Degouy, a habitational name for someone from any of several minor places in northern France named Gouy.
- from the personal name Gauvain, French form of a Celtic name found in English as Gawain.
- from a Germanic personal name, a compound of god, got ‘god’ + hari, heri ‘army’.
- The Goewey family were established in Beverwijck in New Netherland (Albany, NY) in the 17th century. For example, the Dutch Reformed Church registers show that Sara Goewey married Gerritt Sybrantse Van Schayk on January 4, 1684/85.