Gutmann (surname)

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Gutmann (surname)

Gutmann is a German and Ashkenazi Jewish surname. It roughly means “good man” (gut = good, mann = man) and may have started as a description of someone’s character or as an early given name. In Jewish communities, surnames like Gutmann were often adopted when governments required Jews to take permanent family names.

The name appears in German-speaking regions and among Jewish communities, with variations such as Goodman, Guttman, and Guttmann depending on history and place.

Gutmann is not tied to a specific occupation; people with this surname have worked in many different fields. Today it is relatively uncommon, more common in Germany, Austria, and parts of Eastern Europe, and also found in diaspora communities around the world.

Notable people named Gutmann include Adolphe Gutmann (pianist), Amy Gutmann (American diplomat and president of the University of Pennsylvania), Bessie Pease Gutmann (artist), Hugo Gutmann (German-Jewish WWI veteran), John Gutmann (photographer), Peter Gutmann (computer scientist who developed the Gutmann method), and Willi Gutmann (Swiss sculptor), among others.

See also: Gutman, Guttmann, Guttman.