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 (Ashkenazi Jewish) 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 (Emperor or Empress) were called "the Great" (der Große). 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" (My Lord is Great) or "So Groß ist der Herr" (So Great is the Lord). Composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828) wrote several songs referring to Jesus or God as groß, such as D 757, a quartet called "Gott in der Natur" (Groß ist der Herr!) in 1822 and D 852, "Die Allmacht" (Groß ist Jehova, der Herr) in 1825.
People with this surname
- Al Gross (born 1962), American politician and United States senate candidate
- Alfred J. Gross (1918–2000), American inventor
- Andrew Gross (born 1952), American author of thriller novels
- Arye Gross (born 1960), American actor
- Avrum Gross (1936–2018), American lawyer
- Benedict Gross (born 1950), American mathematician
- Bill T. Gross (born 1958), American businessman
- Bob Gross (born 1953), American retired professional basketball player
- Chaim Gross (1904–1991), American sculptor and educator
- Charles Gross (born 1934), American composer
- Charles P. Gross (1889–1975), United States Army officer
- Christian Gross (born 1954), Swiss football manager
- David Gross (born 1941), American scientist and Nobel prize winner
- David A. Gross (born 1954), American diplomat
- Ella Gross (born 2008), American child model and actress
- Evgeni Gross (1897–1972), Soviet scientist
- Frank Gross (1919–2006), Canadian philanthropist
- Gabe Gross (born 1979), American baseball player
- Garry Gross, American photographer
- Grete Gross, (born 1890), Russian-German commercial artist.
- H. R. Gross (1899–1987), American politician
- Hans Georg Friedrich Groß (1860–1924), a German Empire balloonist and airship constructor
- Hans Gross (Groß, Grosz) (1847–1915) Austrian lawyer, one of the earliest modern forensic scientists
- Heinrich Gross (1915–2005), Austrian Nazi doctor
- Heinrich Gross (rabbi) (1835–1910), German rabbi
- Helen Gross (1896–unknown), American classic female blues singer
- Henry Gross (born 1951), American singer-songwriter
- Herbert Gross (1929–2020), American mathematician
- Irma Hannah Gross (1892–1980), American home economist
- Izidor Gross (1866–1942), Croatian chess master and hazzan
- Jacob Gross (1840–1918), Illinois state treasurer
- Jacob Gross (1819–1899), German-American piano maker
- Jacob A. Gross (1842–1887), New York politician
- James A. Gross, American professor and labor law expert
- James Gross, American psychologist and professor
- Jan T. Gross (born 1947), Polish-American historian
- John Gross (1935–2011), British author, editor and critic
- Jordan Gross (born 1980), American football player
- Jost Gross (1946–2005), Swiss politician
- Julie Gross (born 1957), Australian basketball player
- Kenneth I. Gross (1938–2017), American mathematician
- Kevin Gross (born 1961), American baseball player
- Kip Gross (born 1964), American baseball player
- Larry Gross, American screenwriter
- Luke Gross (born 1969), American rugby footballer
- M. Louise Gross (1884–1951), American activist
- Manuela Groß (born 1957), German figure skater
- Mark Gross (born 1966), American musician
- Mark Gross (born 1965), American mathematician
- Mary Gross (born 1953), American actress, voice actress, and comedian
- Mason W. Gross (1911–1977), American university president
- Matthias Gross (born 1969), German social scientist
- Maurice Gross (1934–2001), French linguist
- Michael Gross (disambiguation), multiple people
- Michael Groß, German politician
- Michael Groß, German swimmer
- Milt Gross (1895–1953), American comics artist
- Miriam Gross (born 1939), British editor, journalist and writer
- Mirjana Gross (1922–2012), Croatian historian and writer
- Morris Gross, American college sports coach
- Nikolaus Gross (1898–1945), German anti-Nazi activist
- Otto Gross (1877–1920), Austrian psychoanalyst
- Pascal Groß (born 1991), German footballer
- Paul Gross (born 1959), Canadian actor
- Pete Gross, American sports announcer
- Philip Gross (born 1952), English poet
- Ricco Groß (born 1970), German retired biathlete
- Rita Gross (1943–2015), American educator, writer, and theologian
- Robert A. Gross (1927–2018), American physicist
- Robert A. Gross (born 1959), American historian and professor
- Robert Arthur Gross (1914–1983), American violinist and composer
- Robert E. Gross (1897–1961), American businessman
- Robert Edward Gross (1905–1988), American pioneering pediatric surgeon
- Roland Gross (1909–1989), American film editor
- Sam Gross, American cartoonist
- Samuel David Gross (1805–1884), American surgeon
- Sara Gross (born 1976), Canada-born British triathlete
- Stanislav Gross (1969–2015), Czech lawyer, politician and former social-democratic Prime Minister
- Susanna Gross, English newspaper editor
- Terry Gross (born 1951), American radio personality
- Tom Gross, journalist and political commentator
- Walter Gross (disambiguation), multiple people
- William H. Gross (born 1944), American financial manager and author
- Yoram Gross (1926–2015), Polish–Australian film producer
Fictional characters
- Dr. Gross, a character in the Adventure Time miniseries "Islands"
- Dr Gröss, a character in Faces of Death and its sequels. It can also refer to Heinrich Gross
See also
- List of people known as "the Great"
- Goss (surname)
- Gosse, a surname
- Groce, a surname
- Gros (disambiguation)
- Grosz (disambiguation)
- Kross (disambiguation)
| Surnames associated with the Latin word grossus or Old High German grōz | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great, Big, Thick, Tall |
| ||||||
| Money | |||||||
| Similar but unrelated | |||||||
| Additional meaning | Grose | ||||||
Surname listThis page lists people with the surname Gross. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. Categories: