The name of the Goths is one of the most discussed topics in Germanic philology. It is first recorded by Greco-Roman writers in the 3rd century AD, although names that are probably related appear earlier. Derived from Proto-Germanic *Gutōz ~ *Gutaniz, it is closely related to and probably means the same as the names of both the Geats of southern Sweden and Gutes of Gotland. The implications of these similarities, and the actual meaning of the Gothic name, are disputed in scholarship.
Endonym and exonym In the Gothic language, the Goths referred to themselves collectively as the *Gut-þiuda "Gothic people", attested as dative singular Gutþiudai. Gutthiuda could also mean "Land of the Gothic people". The name of the Goths was probably first recorded by Greek and Roman writers as Gutones, an exonym referring to a people dwelling in the Vistula region during the 1st–2nd century AD. Gradually, forms written with "o" instead of "u", and "th" instead of simple "t", came to dominate in both Latin (e.g. Gothi) and Greek (γόθοι). Within medieval Germanic languages, the Goths are attested as Gotan (plural) in Old English and as Goti (singular) in Old Norse. A Germanic an-stem variant of the name, *Gutan- (Goth), is inferred from a genitive plural form gutani, found on the Pietroassa inscription and possibly equivalent to Biblical Gothic Gutanē, and from the aforementioned Germano-Latin form Gutones ~ Gotones. Another group of related ethnonyms is believed to be attested in Scandinavia, where the oldest forms of the name of the Geats were built from a root Gaut-. This could be an ablaut form of Gut-, although it has also been proposed that this was the normal stem corresponding to *Gutans, despite the different vowel.
Etymology The Proto-Germanic form of Goth is reconstructed as *Gutaz (pl. *Gutōz), which subsequently developed into Old English Gotan. The form *Gutaz was also borrowed into Proto-Baltic as *Gudaz, attested in the Old Prussian prefix gud- (in place names) and in the Lithuanian ethnonym Gùdas, meaning 'Polish' or 'Belarusian', here transferred to the peoples that supplanted the Goths south of their territory. These forms are identical to the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the Gutes (Old Norse pl. Gutar ~ Gotar < *Gutōz), a North Germanic tribe inhabiting the island of Gotland. Scholars have noted that Old Norse sources do not distinguish between Gutes and Goths. It co-existed with an an-stem variant *Gutō(n) (pl. *Gutaniz) observable in such forms as Gutones and gutani. The adjective gutniskr ~ gotniskr ('Gothic, Gutnish'), derived from an earlier *gutan-iskaʀ, along with the noun gutnar ~ gotnar ('men'), from an earlier *gutaniz, also give evidence of this an-stem formation. The ethnonym Geats (or Gauts; Old Norse gautar) stems from Proto-Germanic *Gautōz (sg. *Gautaz), which shares the same etymology and possibly the same meaning as *Gutōz ~ *Gutaniz. The root gaut- is also preserved in several Swedish toponyms, such as the river Göta älv and the region Götaland (homeland of the Geats/Gauts), as well as in the mythic progenitor *Gaut (PGmc *Gautaz), attested by Jordanes as Gapt, whom he presents as an ancestor of the Goths. The root gut- may also be reflected in Guthalus, a river of Germania mentioned by Pliny the Elder, possibly meaning 'Gothic river'. The roots gut- and gaut- are generally considered be related to the Proto-Germanic verb *geutanan, meaning 'to pour' (cf. Goth. giutan), itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰewd- ('to pour'). It is not clear, however, whether the name *Gutaz stems from *Gautaz or the other way around, or whether both forms stem directly from *geutanan. In any case, as Wolfram explains, the recurrence of this name among various groups does not necessarily imply large-scale migrations of a single unified people: "not entire peoples, but small successful clans, the bearers of prestigious traditions, emigrated and became the founders of new gentes".
Meaning Though the etymology of the Gothic name connects to words for pouring, its actual meaning remains uncertain. Various interpretations have been suggested: the pouring could refer to a river or a flooded homeland, the name could mean "people" in the sense of being "seed-spreaders" or "progenitors", or else refer to the name of an ancestor. Wolfram interprets the Gothic name as meaning "men", and suggests that it might have meant "out-pourers" in the sense of "seed, the progenitors, the men". Some, including Peter Heather, have also suggested that Goths meant "the people". In Old Norse, Goti can mean "Goth" or "man", and gotnar signifies "men". Another theory is to interpret Goths as the "seed-spreaders", hence the "stallions", "horses", or some other impregnating animal which may have been a deity. The term goti is used in Old Icelandic for "horse". The root gut- is also found in an Old Norse and later Scandinavian verbs meaning "to give birth". On this account, Icelandic linguist Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon suggested that the Gothic name may have referred to those "born and bred" in the north. As the word Goth is closely related to the Proto-Germanic verb "to pour", Anders Kaliff has favoured the idea that the Gothic name may mean "the people living where the river has their outlet" or "the people who are connected by the rivers and the sea". Jordanes writes in Getica that the ancestor of the Goths was named Gapt (Proto-Germanic: *Gaut). In Scandinavia, Gaut was considered to be a manifestation of the Germanic god Odin, and the Geats derived their ethnonym from this name. The Geats and royal Lombards and Anglo-Saxons claimed descent from Gaut. Wolfram notes that the Gothic name may thus mean "sons of Gaut". Regardless of the meaning of the Gothic name, Herwig Wolfram writes that it is certain that "the tribal name Goths means the same as Gauts". According to Wolfram, this is of bigger importance than its actual meaning. Elias Wessén writes that it is impossible to separate the words Gutar, Götar, Goths, *Gutans and Gauti from each other; they all mean the same.
Attestations
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